Emergency Relief in North Carolina. A Record of the Development and the Activities of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, 1932-1935. North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission, State administrator, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry. Edited by J.S. Kirk, Walter A. Cutter [and] Thomas W. Morse:
Electronic Edition.

North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration

Edited by J.S. Kirk, Walter A. Cutter, Thomas W. Morse

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I have the honor to submit herewith the final report of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration covering the period from August 8, 1933, to December 5, 1935, operating as a state agency under Federal direction.

Included with the report of this administration is a brief summary of the preceding administration under Doctor Fred W. Morrison, State Director of the Governor's Office of Relief, for the period October, 1932, to August 8, 1933, which summary has been approved by the Executive Assistant to the former Relief Director.

This report was prepared not only as a permanent record of the administration of relief in North Carolina, including the accounting of all funds advanced to the Emergency Relief Administration, but also as a reference book through which students and public citizens alike may find an accurate picture of conditions as they were at the beginning of Federal aid for relief to the state and the progressive development of measures and activities to relieve the situation.

On behalf of the administration, permit me to express the appreciation of your splendid cooperation, and the coöperation of all the departments of state government in furthering the program and policies under the direction of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

I also desire to record the fine coöperation of local municipal and governmental units in furthering the program in political subdivisions and the loyal and unselfish service of the members of the staff and of the employees of both state and local administrations.

FOREWORD

In compiling the final report of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, we have endeavored to present a complete summary of the program as a permanent record of the relief problems and activities in the state. Included with a detailed account of the Emergency Relief Administration is a brief summary of the activities of the preceding program financed from Reconstruction Finance Corporation funds, administered by the Governor's Office of Relief, and of the Civil Works Administration. It is hoped that it may serve as a reference volume wherein may be found the inception and development of the Federal program of unemployment relief. The Congressional Acts authorizing each appropriation will be found in the appendix.

The second annual report of the Emergency Relief Administration was in the process of preparation in 1935 when it was announced that direct relief would be discontinued in the early fall, to be followed by the liquidation of the Emergency Relief Administration, and that its program would be absorbed by other agencies. It was then decided to include the annual report in a final report of the entire relief program.

A pictorial review of work projects and special programs has been combined in this one volume with the narrative and statistical accounts. The photographs were made by photographers on ERA work relief projects.

It has been a privilege to have a part in the President's Recovery Program, and the courageous leadership of the Federal Administrator and his assistants has been a constant inspiration to all members of the relief organization.

On behalf of the entire Emergency Relief Administration, both state and local, I wish to express our gratitude to the Governor of North Carolina, who at all times gave full coöperation in the interpretation and application of the policies of the Federal Administration in the state, and constructive criticism and advice in administrative matters and relief policies.

We acknowledge with appreciation the coöperation of all Federal agencies in the effort to coördinate policies and programs, thus aiding in the success of the relief program.

State officials and all the departments of the state government have contributed their full assistance in furnishing information, and in the supervision of work projects concerned with the functions of their respective departments.

The state educational institutions have rendered invaluable service in directing research, furnishing technical information and supervision in all phases of the relief program.

A further contribution of the state has been the provision of rental and maintenance of offices for the state administration.

Local government officials have contributed materials, supervision for work projects, and assistance in administrative matters. In the majority of counties and districts, office space and equipment were made available to the relief administration by the local governments.

Special mention should be made of the leaders of the Adult Education Movement in the state who have so generously assisted in the Emergency Relief Education Program.

Religious, fraternal, civic, and private charitable organizations, and interested citizens have been generous in their services.

Recognition should be given to those representatives of the press who have endeavored to interpret the policies and purposes of the relief program in their true light.

The entire Relief Administration is grateful to all those who have so splendidly coöperated in furthering the relief program.

The administrative personnel of the state office, the local and district administrations, and others who have been a part of the organization, have served with a devotion to a cause, a loyalty and an enthusiasm rarely found. A unity of purpose and action and an "esprit" on the part of all who were responsible for the welfare of those for whom the Emergency Relief Administration was created to serve has been evident. Whether the position was minor or executive, the work has been regarded as an opportunity rather than a job. No work has been too hard, no hours too long, for the staffs to respond to the constant demands made upon them. During my thirty months as administrator they have never failed to swing into action for reorganization or for a pressing request of any kind. To them, my co-workers in the program, I pay tribute for their courage, their loyalty, and their determination to do the job to the best of their ability, regardless of the personal sacrifice involved. Their hearts were in the success of the program. Their consideration was for the people whom the Emergency Relief Administration served. No reference is made to names of those in the employ of the Emergency Relief Administration, but the names of the administrators of the reorganized districts and the full staffs for the peak month are given in the personnel directory. The names of persons on administrative projects are not included in the personnel directory, but the Administration recognizes and appreciates their valuable service in directing special programs.

The liquidation of the Emergency Relief Administration, begun immediately following the cessation of relief on December 5, 1935, has progressed in an orderly fashion and as rapidly as possible. Social work records were transferred to the State Public Welfare Department. Financial, statistical, and work project records were checked and filed for future reference. Materials and equipment have been made available to the Works Progress Administration, the Resettlement Administration, and other Federal and state government agencies. Other materials, tools, and equipment have been transferred to the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation for continued use in the state. The final audit of all expenditures will be completed at the earliest possible date.

For the preparation of this report, we acknowledge with appreciation the coöperation of the State Treasurer in furnishing the administration with financial figures of the state government; the Local Government Commission in furnishing analyses of municipal and county finances; the Public Welfare Department in furnishing the summary of activities of the Governor's Council of Unemployment, and state and county aid to Public Welfare; and the county officials in furnishing the figures on local contributions to charitable institutions and county relief.

This report has been compiled from the reports of heads of divisions of the Emergency Relief Administration, whose names are given in the directory of personnel, many of whom are now with other organizations. The responsibility for compiling and editing this report has fallen on a few people, to whom acknowledgment is due. The Bookkeeping Division, under Mr. S. A. Rowe, and the Statistical Division, under Dr. Hugh P. Brinton, Mr. Thomas Betts, and Mr. J. S. Kirk, have had a major part in preparing the work project and statistical analyses; the Works Division report was written and compiled by Mr. T. W. Morse; reports on special programs have been compiled by Mr. W. A. Harris; the graphs and charts were made by Mr. Waller Wynne, Mr. Arthur Carraway, and Mr. J. S. Kirk; Miss Cora Page Godfrey, Mrs. Mary Dunaway Scheld, and Miss Georgia Biggs have typed the copy for the printer; and the entire volume was edited by Dr. Walter Cutter, Mr. J. S. Kirk, and Mr. T. W. Morse.

INTRODUCTION

The forms of public relief, limited as they were, which existed in the United States before the present emergency, were in a line of direct descent from the English poor law system established in the 16th century. With the enactment of the Statute of Henry XVIII in 1536 which enjoined local public officials and church wardens to search out and make provision for the poor, the foundation of both English and American poor law was laid.

Although no public funds were set aside for the relief of such persons, this law marked a decisive step away from the repressive and penal measures which had been enforced in the period immediately preceding, when the swarms of masterless and landless men which were roving over England, due to the dissolving of the monasteries and the gradual breaking-up of the feudal system, seemed to call for summary action.

Publicly financed relief really began in 1572, with the Second Statute of Elizabeth. Although there had been an injunction, accompanied by some compulsion, to contribute in the past, this law marked an advance by providing for the appointment of specific civil officers ("collectors and overseers of the poor") to administer needed relief and to levy a tax on their fellow citizens for the purpose.

When the British Parliament, in 1597 and 1601, codified English poor laws, certain major principles were enunciated: (1) Persons unable to work were to be maintained, usually in almshouses; (2) Work was to be provided for those able to work, and punishment for those able but unwilling to work; (3) Needy children were to be bound out as apprentices; (4) Relatives were made responsible for needy kinsfolk; (5) Public relief was to be financed by taxation; (6) There was to be administration by overseers of the poor appointed by justices of the peace.

This Elizabethan Poor Law was the first great systematic relief measure in modern times. Until 1834, it served as the legal and philosophic basis of English poor relief, and when the early colonists came to America, this philosophy of relief was brought along as were so many other British institutions.

Although poor laws and relief of poverty in the United States continued to rest upon the principle of the British law until the beginning of the present decade, there was in the American system one basic difference. Whereas in England, legislation and provision for the poor tended to be national in its character, in this country it was local. While greater economic opportunity made poverty relatively rare, there were, as early as the 17th century, certain definite methods of dealing with poverty.

The almshouse was the commonest form of relief, and even recently, it has been described as the fundamental institution of American poor relief. This institution, unfortunately, became the repository for all types of dependency and maladjustment, being used for aged persons, sick and insane persons, persons with contagious diseases, transients, or as popularly termed, tramps, crippled persons, and perhaps worst of all, children.

Relief outside of the almshouse in general, took three forms: (1) Children, and those adults who were physically able were farmed out to work to contractors who supplied in whatever measure the needs of the workers in return for the work to be gotten out of them. (2) Another form of relief disposed of needy persons to employers who contracted to care for them, the usual auctioning procedure

being reversed in that the unfortunate person went to the lowest bidder. (3) Direct aid was sometimes extended in the home, but such aid was infrequent, inadequate and extended usually when the need was of brief duration.

Public poor relief was provided only by local governments, with two types of poor law administration being developed, based on the township and the county. Gradually these types were supplemented by the city plan of relief administration. When state governments entered relief activity, and this was comparatively recently, they restricted their participation almost exclusively to supervision.

RELIEF PRACTICES UNDERGO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

In the period elapsing between colonial times and the present emergency certain profoundly significant changes in public relief practices transpired, some gradual, some of recent occurrence.

1. There has been a growing tendency towards the use of "outdoor relief," that is, direct relief outside of institutions, and toward the segregation of different types of dependents. This tendency has served to a great extent to displace the almshouse as the fundamental institution of poor relief.

2. The almshouse, which is now called by various names, the county home, the county infirmary, etc., ceased to be the repository for all types of delinquents, and for children, and became an institution primarily for the care of the aged and infirm.

While there was no comprehensive plan for the adequate care of all types of needy persons, there were, nevertheless, appreciable advances.

3. Public relief activities underwent appreciable coördination and centralization, proving conducive to both uniformity and to elevating standards for administration.

4. Other trends became increasingly important as time went on, although these were limited in their influence until the present emergency. (a) Needy persons have come to place an increasing relative dependence on public relief as compared with private charity; (b) More adequately trained and better qualified persons have been used to a greater extent in the administration of relief; (c) There have been growing attempts, with some degree of success, to provide more adequate relief and individualized treatment; (d) Preventive and rehabilitative measures have been substituted for merely palliative relief.

But even in the present century, the majority of people were reluctant to accept public aid, its acceptance being regarded as a humiliation and a disgrace, attaching an undesirable stigma to the recipient. This attitude has developed, doubtless, from a number of causes. The repressive and penal character of early English "poor relief" legislation undoubtedly played a large part. Then the perfectly understandable human aversion to being considered a failure in the battle of life has entered in. This consideration joins naturally with our American individualism. There is always a public feeling that failure to achieve success (usually measured in material gain) is proof positive of a basic lack, and for this lack the unfortunate person should be penalized, and his care should be so arranged that it could be undertaken at the least possible expense.

But it becomes increasingly apparent, that the State in its general program of protecting its citizens has as a fundamental responsibility the lending of assistance to those whose welfare and actual security is endangered. Normally, when times are less disturbed, care for destitution is a comparatively minor governmental activity. In an emergency as widespread as that of the present, governmental participation in the problem of relieving relief is of an importance difficult to appraise.

In the past five years of economic depression, vast numbers of workers, normally independent, have been compelled to accept private and public aid as a desirable alternative to starvation. A peculiarity about this crisis lies in the large numbers and classes of persons involved who were fortunate

in escaping the consequences of previous periods of economic upheaval. This almost unbelievable increase in dependency has compelled the State and Federal Governments to assume a larger share of the responsibility for relief. With the development of new plans and new methods, the administration of relief has become a major function of government.

With this brief notice of the historical antecedents of our present day views of relief, it will be valuable to trace the developing recognition of the Federal Government's direct responsibility to supplement state funds in aiding impoverished citizens.

DEVELOPING RECOGNITION OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY

In a statement made by President Herbert Hoover to United States Senators Robinson and Watson, he proposed that loans to the states for relief purposes be made through the existing Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Excerpts from his statement, published in the New York Herald Tribune on May 13, 1932, follow:

"The policy steadfastly adhered to up to the present time has been that responsibility for relief to distress belongs to private organizations, local communities and the states. That fundamental policy is not to be changed. But since the fear has arisen that existing relief measures and resources may prove inadequate in certain localities and to insure against any possible breakdown in those facilities it is proposed that authority be granted to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to assist such states as may need it by underwriting only state bonds or by loaning directly to such states as may not be in position temporarily to sell securities in the market. The funds so obtained to be used for relief purposes and the total limited to $250,000,000 or $300,000,000.

"The second part of the program contemplates providing the machinery whereby employment may be increased through restoring normal occupations rather than works of artificial character. Without entering the field of industrial or public expansion, there are a large number of economically sound and self-supporting projects of a constructive replacement character that would unquestionably be carried forward were it not for the present situation existing in the capital markets and the inadequate functioning of the credit machinery of the country. They exist both in the field of public bodies and of industry. There is no dearth of capital, and on the other hand there is a real demand for capital for productive purposes that have been held in abeyance. The problem is to make the existing capital available and to stimulate its use in constructive capital activities. This involves under existing conditions resort to special machinery which is adapted to furnish the necessary element of confidence.

"It is proposed to use the instrumentality of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which has a nation-wide organization, by authorizing the corporation either to underwrite or make loans for income-producing and self-sustaining enterprises which will increase employment whether undertaken by public bodies or private enterprises.

"In order to safeguard the program beyond all question it is proposed that there must be proper security for the loans; that, as said, projects must be income-producing; that borrowers must have sufficient confidence to furnish part of the capital and that the project must contribute to early and substantial employment.

"It is proposed to provide the necessary funds as they are required by the sale of securities of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and its total borrowing powers to be increased up to $3,000,000,000. It is not proposed to issue government bonds. It is hoped that this further process of

speeding up the economic machine will not involve any such sum. But in view of the early adjournment of Congress it is desirable to provide an ample margin.

"It is necessary sharply to distinguish between the use of capital for the above purposes and its use for unproductive public works. This proposal represents a flow of funds into productive enterprises, which is not taking place today because of abnormal conditions. These being loans on security and being self-liquidating in character, do not constitute a change against the taxpayer or the public credit. The issue of bonds for public works, non-productive of revenue, is a direct charge either upon the taxpayer or upon the public credit, the interest on which and the ultimate redemption of which must be met from taxation.

"An examination shows that to increase Federal government construction work during the next year beyond the amounts already provided for would be to undertake works of largely artificial character far in advance of public return and would represent a wasteful use of capital and public credit."

THE RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION, JULY, 1932

In July, 1932, legislation empowering the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to use certain funds was enacted and the Corporation was authorized to make available the sum of $300,000,000.00 to aid the several States and Territories. (The full text of this legislation will be found in the Appendix.) This act provided for payments to the governors of the several states, after application had been made and approved, with the reservation that not more than 15 per cent of this sum could be made available to any one State or Territory.

Provision was made for systematic repayment to the Corporation by deductions from regular Federal grants made to the States (for highway construction and rural post roads). Interest was to be at 3 per cent per annum. Provision was made also for successive applications, when necessary, by the state governors. The central social provision of this legislation is found in an excerpt from the statement of description, that the money should be used "in furnishing relief and work relief to needy and distressed people and relieving the hardship resulting from unemployment."

On this basis, the Federal funds were made available to the states in the early fall of 1932, the states having full control of expenditures of the funds advanced to them, and full responsibility for determining policies best adapted to the varying local conditions. During the winter of 1932 and 1933, millions of people, suddenly thrown out of employment through the rapid failure of banks, industrial and business plants, were facing starvation. Aid was extended in both direct and work relief. No uniform plan was developed until the Emergency Relief Act was passed in May, 1933.

Following his inauguration, President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress, on March 21, 1933, presented his plans for an expanded and unified program of unemployment relief. These plans included a broad public works program with the double objective of giving needed employment, and the conservation and development of the country's natural resources. The President's recommendations resulted in the immediate passage of CCC legislation, on March 31, 1933, and the Federal Emergency Relief Act on May 12, 1933.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE OF MARCH 21, 1933, TO CONGRESS, RESULTING IN THE FERA LEGISLATION

(As published in the New York Times, March 22, 1933.)

To the Congress:

"It is essential to our recovery program that measures immediately be enacted aimed at unemployment relief. A direct attack on this problem suggests three types of legislation.

"The first is the enrollment of workers now by the Federal Government for such public employment as can be quickly started and will not interfere with the demand for or the proper standards of normal employment.

"The second is grants to States for relief work.

"The third extends to a broad public works labor-creating program.

"With reference to the latter I am now studying the many projects suggested and the financial questions involved. I shall make recommendations to the Congress presently.

"In regard to grants to States for relief work I advise you that the remainder of the appropriation of last year will last until May. Therefore, and because a continuance of Federal aid is still a definite necessity for many States, a further appropriation must be made before the end of this special session.

"I find a clear need for some simple Federal machinery to coördinate and check these grants of aid. I am, therefore, asking that you establish the office of Federal Relief Administrator, whose duty it will be to scan requests for grants and to check the efficiency and wisdom of their use.

"The first of these measures which I have enumerated, however, can and should be immediately enacted. I propose to create a Civilian Conservation Corps to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects.

"I call your attention to the fact that this type of work is of definite, practical value, not only through the prevention of great present financial loss but also as a means of creating future national wealth. This is brought home by the news we are receiving today of vast damage caused by floods on the Ohio and other rivers.

"Control and direction of such work can be carried on by existing machinery of the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, War and Interior.

"I estimate that 250,000 men can be given temporary employment by early summer if you give authority to proceed within the next two weeks.

"I ask no new funds at this time. The use of unobligated funds, now appropriated for public works, will be sufficient for several months.

"This enterprise is an established part of our national policy. It will conserve our precious natural resources. It will pay dividends to the present and future generations. It will make improvements in national and state domains which have been largely forgotten in the past few years of industrial development.

"More important, however, than the material gains will be the moral and spiritual value of such work. The overwhelming majority of unemployed Americans who are now walking the streets and receiving private or public relief would infinitely prefer to work. We can take a vast army of these unemployed out into healthful surroundings. We can eliminate to some extent at least the threat that enforced idleness brings to spiritual and moral stability.

"It is not a panacea for all the unemployment, but it's an essential step in this emergency. I ask its adoption."

THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS LEGISLATION, MARCH 31, 1933

In the period elapsing between the Presidential message to Congress, and the passage of legislation necessary to set up the FERA, there was another significant development which occurred, the establishment,

by Act of Congress, of the Civilian Conservation Corps, usually designated the CCC. Designed to provide employment for unemployed young men, this CCC program has been one of the most profitable activities among those in which the Federal Government has engaged. The Corps was to engage in "the construction, maintenance and carrying on of works of a public nature in connection with the forestation of land belonging to the United States or to the several States which are suitable for timber production, the prevention of forest fires, floods and soil erosion, plant pest and disease control, the construction, maintenance or repair of paths, trails and firelanes in the national parks and national forests, etc., etc. (The full text of this act will be found in the Appendix.)

The advantages of the CCC program were so numerous that after it had been operating for a period, the enrollment was increased so that more young men could receive the benefits of camp life while contributing subsistence to their families and useful public services to the States. The Corps has made a distinguished record throughout the nation. The report of its activities in this state will be found elsewhere in this volume.

THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT, MAY, 1933

(The full text of this act may be found in the Appendix)

In May, 1933, a national relief authority, designed to avert the collapse of state and local relief was created by act of Congress. This authority was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which assumed, under the act, responsibility for the distribution of Federal relief funds and for the coördination of relief activities in the various states. The sum of $500,000,000.00, later augmented by an additional $950,000,000.00, was put at the disposal of this authority to assist the states in meeting relief costs and to permit more adequate standards of relief. A further purpose was to improve the methods employed by relief administrative units in the several states.

Under the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the duties and powers of the national organization are clearly prescribed. One of its essential features was a recognition of the duty of the Federal government to contribute directly to the aid of the States, and without provision for future repayment.

Grants were made on a twofold basis: which provided (1) that each state should receive a "matched" appropriation, paid quarterly, equal to one-third of the amount of public funds spent for relief purposes within the State in the preceding quarter year; and (2) that further grants should be made to those States which could demonstrate that funds under the matching provision were inadequate. The funds provided were to be used by the States to provide direct relief in cash or in kind, to pay work relief wages, and to finance other specified types of aid. Funds for transient relief and for grants to self-help organizations are allotted apart from the "matching" provision.

Under the provisions of the Federal Emergency Relief Act, there came into existence the largest relief-dispensing agency that this country has ever seen. The operation of the various programs under its regulations has constituted a social phenomenon of a magnitude and significance difficult to appraise with any adequacy at the present time. It is sufficient to say that in one way or another the effects of this bold and unprecedented excursion into the field of public relief will have an undeniable influence on any future philosophy of dispensing monetary or other aid to those suffering the evils of widespread unemployment.

Beginning in July as a combination work and direct relief program, it soon became apparent that measures to accelerate actual employment were necessary, so the CWA, a strictly works program, was inaugurated by Executive Order of the President on November 9, 1933.

EXECUTIVE ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

By virtue of the authority vested in me under title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 (Public, No. 67, 73d Cong.), and for the purpose of increasing employment quickly:

(1) I hereby establish a Federal Civil Works Administration, and appoint as Administrator thereof the Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, as an agency to administer a program of public works as a part of, and to be included in, the comprehensive program under preparation by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, which program shall be approved by the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works and shall be known as the "civil works program."

(2) The Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, as the head of the Federal Civil Works Administration, is authorized to construct, finance, or aid in the construction or financing of any public-works project included in the civil works program and to acquire by purchase any real or personal property in connection with the accomplishment of any such project and to lease any such property with or without the privilege of purchase.

(3) The said Administrator is further authorized to appoint without regard to the civil service laws or the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and fix the compensation of such officers, experts, and employees, and prescribe their duties and authority and make such expenditures (including expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and elsewhere, for law books and books of reference, and for paper, binding, and printing), as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Federal Civil Works Administration and, with the consent of the State or municipality concerned, may utilize such State and local officers and employees as he may deem necessary.

(4) For the purposes of this order, there is hereby allocated to the Federal Civil Works Administration the sum of $400,000,000 out of the appropriation of $3,300,000,000 authorized by section 220 of the National Industrial Recovery Act and made by the Fourth Deficiency Act, fiscal year 1933, approved June 16, 1933 (Public, No. 77, 73d Cong.).

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.

The White House, November 9, 1933.

The general plan for CWA as given, on November 15, 1933, by Harry Hopkins, Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, is printed in full in the text because of its social significance. Part is given immediately following, and that part which deals specifically with the actual set up and procedures of CWA will be found immediately preceding the CWA report on page 65.

THE PLAN FOR CWA AS OUTLINED IN HARRY HOPKINS' SPEECH OF NOVEMBER 15, 1933

"I think everybody in this room knows as much about this relief business as I do. You know that last winter four and a half million families were receiving public relief, or about 21,000,000 people in the United States. You know that that list has come down from four and a half million families to about three million families in September, but that those three million families still represent between fourteen and fifteen million people. You know that these fifteen million people in America have been placed upon a relief basis, that these carpenters, brick-layers, masons, engineers, architects, draughtsmen, have gone to relief offices and have filled out application blanks and an investigator has gone to their homes to find out whether or not they had any money in the bank or whether they had a life insurance policy, whether or not they had any resources, and that a record

was made of that information, and then if that person was in need he or she was given relief. He was given a grocery order or perchance his rent was paid or his gas bill was paid by an order.

"Other large numbers of them numbering well over a million, were given what is known as work-relief, and they were given as many hours of work per week on some kind of public project as would provide enough money to meet this minimum budget. Many of them on work relief instead of receiving cash were given grocery orders for their work relief, so that literally millions and millions of people in this country for the past two years have never seen any money, have been living on a scheme and a system of grocery orders. Other millions who have received cash or work relief have received how much? Well, the whole four and a half million families last winter received an average of fifty cents a day per family, and right now they are getting about sixty cents a day per family--fifteen million people in America placed on a standard of living that nobody in this room would say is a decent American standard. Then on top of that these fine people, the finest there are in the country, have got to come to these relief offices of ours, no matter how well they are run, and ask for relief, have strangers come into their homes, and, in the main, get a grocery order. Nobody likes it. Let no one say that the people that have been administering relief in the United States like it. They have been trying to do a job and in the main that job has been well done. Relief, in the main, over the United States has been administered on a fair, decent basis. People have been treated decently when they have gone into those offices. But the idea of fifteen million people depending for their livelihood in that fashion is unthinkable; it is unthinkable that that system should be continued any longer than it absolutely has to be.

"The President has decided that in so far as it is humanly possible that shall be wiped out, and in its place men able and willing to work on the relief rolls and other millions not on the relief rolls shall be given a job on public works that is a real job at a fair wage, at a going rate, so that they can be self-supporting, independent American citizens. The program I am going to discuss with you this morning is the program of the President by which he proposes to put four million men in the United States to work in thirty days. So much for that speech.

"This could not have been possible were it not for the fact that the Public Works Board appropriated $400,000,000 to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which in turn by the President's order has become the Civil Works Administration to prosecute those projects. Our funds for this come from Public Works entirely and therefore any funds that we spend from this $400,000,000 must be expended according to the Public Works Law."

BEGINNING OF AN EXPANDED ERA PROGRAM

After four months of operation of the CWA, a program which for the rapidity with which it was begun and the tempo at which it operated is unequaled by any venture of comparable size, there was a decision on the part of President Roosevelt to discontinue it and to absorb its activities in the work program of ERA. Accordingly the President made a statement on February 28, 1934, which statement is reprinted from the New York Sun of the same date."

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S STATEMENT OF FEBRUARY 28, 1934, CONCERNING HIS PLAN FOR THE JOB PROGRAM TO TAKE THE PLACE OF CWA

"The experience of the last nine months has shown that the problem of unemployment must be faced on more than one front.

"Coincident with the plans for the demobilization of civil works has been the development of a

program to meet the peculiar needs of three separate and distinct groups in need through no fault of their own.

"It has been found that these three groups fall into the following classifications:

1. Distressed families in rural areas.

2. Those composing 'stranded populations,' i.e., living in single-industry communities in which there is no hope of future reëmployment, such as miners in worked-out fields.

3. The unemployed in large cities.

"The administration will be guided by these groupings in expending the $950,000,000 recently appropriated by Congress.

"The care of needy persons in rural areas is a problem quite distinct and apart from that of the industrial unemployed. Their security must be identified with agriculture. They must be placed in positions of self-support. In many parts of the country this calls for a change from commercial farming and dependence upon a single cash crop, to the raising of the various commodities needed to maintain the families.

"Relief funds, therefore, will be expended on behalf of rural families in a manner and to an extent that will enable them to achieve self-support. Work for wages from relief funds is not an essential part of this phase of the program and will be provided only in so far as it is necessary to accomplish the primary objectives. No encouragement of an extension of competitive farming is contemplated, but rather the placing of thousands of persons, who have made their living from agriculture, into a relationship with the soil that will provide them a security they do not now enjoy.

"Some of the methods to be employed include building or rebuilding to provide adequate farm homes; the provision of seed, and of stocks for other than commercial purposes, and opportunities to these workers to earn modest cash incomes through part-time or seasonal employment in small industrial enterprises. There should also be a planned distribution of the regular jobs on highways in the national and State parks and forests, and other public work prosecuted in agricultural communities.

"The plan calls for complete coöperation with the Department of Agriculture, and with the State and county agricultural departments throughout the country. It substitutes for direct relief an opportunity to obtain and maintain self-support in an accustomed environment, and completely divorces relief activities in rural areas from those in the cities.

"Only a careful survey can determine the number of families included in 'stranded populations,' but there are sufficient data already collected to indicate a situation of substantial proportions. The solution of the problem of these families involves their physical transplanting in a large majority of cases since the areas in which they concentrated offer neither future employment at wages nor opportunities for self-support through agriculture.

"It is planned to explore this difficult situation and, in collaboration with the Subsistence Homesteads Division of the Department of the Interior, and with other Federal and local agencies devise and apply definitely remedial measures which will affect an appreciable number of these families. These measures will be directed first at maintenance on small tracts of land and then at the developments of supplemental or industrial opportunities to provide for a normal standard of living.

"The needy unemployed living in cities and towns, who, in the course of coming months may reasonably look forward to regular jobs are entitled to, and should receive, in so far as possible,

adequate assurance of means to maintain themselves during the balance of the period of their enforced idleness. The Federal Government, both in its relief measures and in its Civil Works program, now nearing completion, has been meeting an emergency situation.

"Direct relief as such, whether the form of cash or relief in kind, is not an adequate way of meeting the needs of able-bodied workers. They very properly insisted upon an opportunity to give the community their services in the form of labor in return for unemployment benefits. The Federal Government has no intention or desire to force either upon the country or the unemployed themselves a system of relief which is repugnant to American ideals of individual self-reliance. Therefore, work programs which would not normally be undertaken by public bodies, but which are at the same time outside of the field of private industry, will be projected and prosecuted in and near industrial communities. Labor on these projects will not be expected of dependent members of the communities who are unable to work, but will be confined to those needy unemployed who can give adequate return for the unemployment benefits which they receive.

"Work will be given to an individual for a period not to exceed six months. This is in order that it may not be considered, or utilized, as a permanent method of support. It will be administered by and under the direction of these relief activities in industrial communities.

"Every effort will be made to continue opportunities for work for the professional groups in need--teachers, engineers, architects, artists, nurses and others.

"This program expresses a conviction that industrial workers who are unemployed and in need of relief should be given an opportunity for livelihood by the prosecution of a flexible program of public works. The several States will be aided, as the Federal relief law provides, in the financing of this enterprise."

THE DISCONTINUANCE OF CWA AND THE REORGANIZATION OF ERA

CWA was discontinued on March 31, and its activities were absorbed in the expanded Emergency Relief Administration.

Full administrative control of the work program was returned from Federal authority under CWA to the State Relief Administration. Under the re-organized Emergency Relief Program, as of April 1, 1934, the work program was reëstablished as work relief.

The primary objective of the ERA had been that of providing subsistence as a temporary means of relief for distressed persons. Under the expanded program, it became a long-range program for the rehabilitation of persons in rural areas and stranded populations, and to provide work for the unemployed through a comprehensive program of conservation of our natural resources and promotion of public works and professional services not in competition with private industry.

THE EMERGENCY RELIEF APPROPRIATION ACT OF 1935

Again on January 4, 1935, the President addressed Congress on the "State of the Nation," outlining plans for further reorganization of the Emergency Relief Program which message resulted in the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935.

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, JANUARY 4, 1935

(as published in the New York Times, January 5, 1935)

"In defining immediate factors which enter into our quest, I have spoken to the Congress and the people of three great divisions:

1. The security of a livelihood through the better use of the national resources of the land in which we live.

"I am now ready to submit to the Congress a broad program designed ultimately to establish all three of these factors of security--a program which because of many lost years will take many future years to fulfill.

"A study of our national resources, more comprehensive than any previously made, shows the vast amount of necessary and practicable work which needs to be done for the development and preservation of our natural wealth for the enjoyment and advantage of our people in generations to come. The sound use of land and water is far more comprehensive than the mere planting of trees, building of dams, distributing of electricity or retirement of submarginal land. It recognizes that stranded populations, either in the country or the city cannot have security under the conditions that now surround them.

"To this end we are ready to begin to meet this problem--the intelligent care of population throughout our nation, in accordance with an intelligent distribution of the means of livelihood for that population. A definite program for putting people to work, of which I shall speak in a moment is a component part of this greater program of security of livelihood through the better use of our national resources.

"Closely related to the broad problem of livelihood is that of security against the major hazards of life. Here also a comprehensive survey of what has been attempted or accomplished in many nations and in many States proves to me that the time has come for action by the national government. I shall send to you, in a few days, definite recommendations based on these studies. These recommendations will cover the broad subjects of unemployment insurance and old-age insurance, of benefits for children, for mothers, for the handicapped, for maternity care and for other aspects dependency and illness where a beginning can now be made.

"The third factor--better homes for our people--has also been the subject of experimentation and study. Here, too, the first practical steps can be made through the proposals which I shall suggest in relation to giving work to the unemployed.

"Whatever we plan and whatever we do should be in the light of these three clear objectives of security. We cannot afford to lose valuable time in haphazard public policies which cannot find a place in the broad outlines of these major purposes. In that spirit I come to an immediate issue made for us by hard and inescapable circumstance--the task of putting people to work. In the Spring of 1933, the issue of destitution seemed to stand apart; today, in the light of our experience and our new national policy, we find we can put people to work in ways which conform to, initiate and carry forward the broad principles of that policy.

"The first objectives of emergency legislation of 1933 were to relieve destitution, to make it possible for industry to operate in a more rational and orderly fashion, and to put behind industrial recovery the impulse of large expenditures in government undertakings. The purpose of the National Industrial Recovery Act to provide work for more people succeeded in a substantial manner within the first few months of its life, and the act has continued to maintain employment gains and greatly improved working conditions in industry.

"The program of public works provided for in the Recovery Act launched the Federal Government into a task for which there was little time to make preparation and little American experience to follow. Great employment has been given and is being given by these works.

"More than two billions of dollars have also been expended in direct relief to the destitute. Local agencies of necessity determined the recipients of this form of relief. With inevitable exceptions the funds were spent by them with reasonable efficiency, and as a result actual want of food and clothing in the great majority of cases has been overcome.

"But the stark fact before us is that a great number still remain unemployed.

"A large proportion of these unemployed and their dependents have been forced on the relief rolls. The burden on the Federal Government has grown with great rapidity. We have here a human as well as an economic problem. When humane considerations are concerned, Americans give them precedence. The lessons of history, confirmed by the evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers.

"The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief.

"I am not willing that the vitality of our people be further sapped by the giving of cash, of market baskets, of a few hours of weekly work cutting grass, raking leaves or picking up papers in the public parks. We must preserve not only the bodies of the unemployed from destitution, but also their self-respect, their self-reliance and courage and determination. This decision brings me to the problem of what the government should do with approximately five million unemployed now on the relief rolls.

"About one million and a half of these belong to the group which in the past was dependent upon local welfare efforts. Most of them are unable for one reason or another to maintain themselves independently--for the most part through no fault of their own. Such people, in the days before the great depression, were cared for by local efforts--by States, by counties, by towns, by cities, by churches and by private welfare agencies. It is my thought that in the future they must be cared for as they were before. I stand ready through my own personal efforts, and through the public influence of the office that I hold, to help these local agencies to get the means necessary to assume this burden.

"The security legislation which I shall propose to the Congress will, I am confident, be of assistance to local effort in the care of this type of cases. Local responsibility can and will be resumed, for, after all, common sense tells us that the wealth necessary for this task existed and still exists in the local community, and the dictates of sound administration require that this responsibility be in the first instance a local one.

"There are, however, an additional 3,500,000 employable people who are on relief. With them the problem is different and the responsibility is different. This group was the victim of a nationwide depression caused by conditions which were not local, but national. The Federal Government is the only governmental agency with sufficient power and credit to meet this situation. We have assumed this task and we shall not shrink from it in the future. It is a duty dictated by every intelligent consideration of national policy to ask you to make it possible for the United States to give employment

to all of these 3,500,000 employable people now on relief, pending their absorption in a rising tide of private employment.

"It is my thought that with the exception of certain of the normal public building operations of the government, all emergency public works shall be united in a single new and greatly enlarged plan.

"With the establishment of this new system we can supersede the Federal Emergency Relief Administration with a coördinated authority which will be charged with the orderly liquidation of our present relief activities and the substitution of a national chart or the giving of work.

"This new program of emergency public employment should be governed by a number of practical principles:

1. All work undertaken should be useful--not just for a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the nation.

2. Compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole, but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in government work.

3. Projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used.

4. Preference should be given to those projects which will be self liquidating in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the government will get its money back at some future time.

5. The projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises. This suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief, these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken.

6. The planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief, or until such time as private employment is available. In order to make adjustment to increasing private employment, work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers.

7. Effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls, and the broad program of the National Resources Board should be freely used for guidance in selection. Our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives, the government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who cannot secure the advantages of private capital."

THE CREATION OF NEW FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND THE DISCONTINUANCE OF ERA

The Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 was passed by Congress on April 8, 1935, and plans for reorganizing the relief activities divorcing the work program from relief slowly took shape. Two new Federal agencies were created to take over two major programs of ERA as Federal programs, the WPA to absorb the works program, and the Resettlement Administration to take over Rural Rehabilitation. The Federal Government discontinued grants to the States on December 1, 1935, for direct relief, placing this responsibility on the States. It is expected that the unemployable persons on relief will receive aid under the provisions of the Social Security Act.

DEVELOPMENT OF ADMINISTRATION OF RELIEF IN NORTH CAROLINA

Prior to 1932, relief of destitution was a minor phase of governmental activity in North Carolina. Each county provided, through public funds, for its own indigents--mostly the aged and infirm--by outside poor relief, or in county homes. The state and counties, jointly, through the Public Welfare Departments, cared for a relatively small number of dependents. In general, needy and unfortunate persons were aided through churches, private organizations, and charitable agencies--from funds contributed by individuals. The responsibility of investigations and aid rendered was usually delegated to members of boards or committees who gave such voluntary service as their time and private responsibilities would permit. In a few of the large towns and cities, part and full-time social workers were employed by private agencies.

During the economic crisis of the past few years, thousands of independent workers were thrown out of jobs, while thousands of persons of both large and small incomes were left penniless by failures of banks and businesses. Private and public agencies could no longer carry even the pre-depression numbers of destitute families, as incomes of contributors to relief funds were swept away, and taxable resources depleted. The Federal Government was compelled to assume responsibility for the citizens who otherwise faced slow starvation.

Preceding this crisis which was reached in 1932, the rising tide of unemployment was a matter of grave concern. The first organized effort to cope with the situation was the appointment, by Governor Gardner, in December, 1930, of an emergency committee, which was designated as the Governor's Council on Unemployment and Relief. The members appointed by the Governor were: Eugene Newsome, Chairman, Durham; Mrs. W. T. Bost, Vice Chairman, Raleigh; Frank D. Grist, Raleigh; Robert Latham, Asheville; Oscar A. Hamilton, Wilmington; Albert S. Keister, Greensboro; Reuben Robertson, Canton; Dr. J. M. Parrott, Kinston; R. R. Lawrence, Winston-Salem; Dr. Carl Taylor, Raleigh; E. B. Crow, Raleigh; Mrs. Palmer German, Raleigh; Julian S. Miller, Charlotte. Mr. R. W. Henninger, of the State College School of Science and Business, was appointed Executive Secretary to the Council. The Council was appointed to coöperate with the various Federal, State, and local agencies as a study and planning unit to work out a program to meet the conditions brought about by widespread unemployment and the accompanying need for relief.

Under direction of the Council, local councils or coördinating committees were organized in many counties and cities for the purpose of coördinating all of the Federal, State, and local agencies to meet the relief needs. Bulletins were issued frequently by the Executive Secretary, suggesting plans and means of meeting the situation. Local communities were considerably strengthened in meeting local conditions through the aid of the Governor's Council.

During 1930, the Executive Secretary and staff members of the State Welfare Department visited the cities and counties to advise with and assist them in organizing the counties. As the work increased in 1932, voluntary field organizers were added, their only compensation being traveling expenses.

Although no appropriation was made for the work of the Council, Governor Gardner provided funds for the administration out of the State Emergency Fund. This money was expended for the Council through the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare. The amount spent for this purpose was $17,469.96, all of which came from the State Emergency Fund, except $1,028.72 collected from private sources. The Council was nominally discontinued on July 1, 1932.

THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OF RELIEF

Under authority granted by the United States Congress to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in July, 1932, Federal funds were made available to the states for relief needs. On September 1, 1932, Governor Gardner created the Governor's Office of Relief as the agency to direct relief activities in North Carolina. Dr. Fred W. Morrison, Executive Secretary to the State Tax Commission, was appointed State Director of Relief. The State Commissioner of Public Welfare was appointed Administrative Assistant, in charge of county and city organizations. Dr. Roy M. Brown, instructor in the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, was loaned by the University to fill the position of Technical Supervisor for the Governor's Office of Relief. Other members of the staff were: Mr. Ronald B. Wilson, Executive Assistant to the Director; Mr. George W. Bradshaw, Accountant; Julian S. Miller, Director of Public Relations; Felix A. Grisett, Assistant Director of Public Relations; and ten Field Supervisors--T. L. Grier, Mrs. May E. Campbell, William Curtis Ezell, W. T. Mattox, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, Mrs. J. H. Frye, Miss Lois Dosher, Miss Pearl Weaver, Miss Nancy Austin, and Miss Mary Ward; and secretarial and stenographic assistants--Miss Emma Neal McQueen, Miss Doryce Wynn, and Miss Cora Page Godfrey.

Existing local private and public agencies were used to direct the program in the political subdivisions. Relief Directors, chiefly Superintendents of Public Welfare, were appointed in each of the one hundred counties. In counties in which the Superintendents of Public Schools were ex-officio Superintendents of Public Welfare, Superintendents of Public Schools were appointed Directors of Relief. Superintendents of Public Welfare and Superintendents of Schools served in this dual capacity without compensation. All additional administrative personnel employed for the relief program was paid from relief funds. Exceptions were made in Franklin, Durham, and Cumberland counties, due to local conditions. In these counties, Relief Directors were appointed who were officially connected with existing agencies.

In the seven largest cities in the state, the relief program was directed by recognized private agencies. Public officials acted in advisory capacity only. Local Advisory Boards, composed of members representing local government officials, and public and private agencies, were appointed in each political subdivision.

Full authority for administrative control and determining the policies and standards of relief rested in the state administration. Considerable latitude was permitted the political subdivisions in administering the program.

The grants from the RFC to the state for relief purposes were made on the basis of a loan to be absorbed in the Federal Road Program. The following table gives the allotments from the RFC to the State from October, 1932, through May, 1933; total allotments to the counties made by the Governor's Office of Relief; case load for the state; and number on work relief.

These funds were supplemented by private contributions, and contributions by local private agencies, American Red Cross, local governmental organizations, etc. In many local units, funds from these sources were pooled with Federal funds and deposited with the county or city treasurer.

The case load reached the peak of 176,124 in February, or 26 per cent of the state population. After February, the case load decreased each month, and in June, at the close of the RFC program, the case load was 102,344 or 10 per cent of the state's population. This decrease is partly accounted for by the fact that in April relief was discontinued in rural areas for a period of three weeks, in order to get people started on the farms. When relief was reopened in rural areas in May, clients receiving American Red Cross flour only, or aid from churches only were not included in the case load as being on public relief rolls.

SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

The relief program provided both direct relief, and work relief for persons able to work. In selecting work projects, preference was given to public works of permanent value that would not have been undertaken at this time except for the availability of Federal funds. These projects included: assistance in highway and road maintenance; construction, and repair of public buildings; beautification and improvement of school grounds and other public buildings; improvement and beautification of municipal parks; drainage; water and sewer extensions; city streets; geodetic surveys; lunches for school children of families on relief; farm and garden work; and other work benefiting communities at large. By November 7, approximately 107 projects of these types had been set up in the counties.

Construction and all types of engineering were practically at a standstill. The engineering profession was among the first to feel the widespread effects of unemployment. North Carolina was the first state to initiate Geodetic Surveys as work relief projects. Exceptionally good work was accomplished in North Carolina in this field under RFC and continued under CWA and ERA.

The approved wage scale ranged from 50c per day for unskilled to $2.50 per day for skilled labor, according to the prevailing wage rates in the community, type of work and labor.

No materials were purchased from Federal funds. The funds provided from local public and private sources usually exceeded the expenditure of Federal funds on work projects. Under this program, 52 new school buildings and 209 classrooms were constructed, part of which were completed under ERA; 69 gymnasiums and work shops were undertaken and completed under this program and ERA; 396 were repainted and repaired; school grounds were improved at 639 schools. Expenditures of Federal funds for school improvements were $273,217.19, and from the Literary

Loan fund, local public funds, and private contributions, $338,851.53 was spent for materials and skilled labor.

Following the passage of the CCC legislation by Congress, the first enrollment for CCC camps was in April, 1933. The quota for North Carolina was 6,500. An additional quota of 1,150 was received in May. North Carolina was the first state to complete the enrollment.

In the early spring, Mr. Charles A. Sheffield, Assistant Director of Extension Service, was loaned by State College to the Governor's Office of Relief to direct the farm and garden program. With the coöperation of the Home Demonstration Agents and local communities, the relief agencies, under Mr. Sheffield's direction, conducted a really remarkable garden program. This farm and garden program was inaugurated under the RFC program and completed under ERA. The expenditure of $496,086.17 from RFC and ERA funds for seeds, fertilizer, cultivation, canning equipment, harvesting, supervision, and labor, yielded a return of $12,335,825.17 in fresh vegetables, canned and dried fruits and vegetables, syrup, etc., which were used for relief clients.

There were 90,831 transients aided by local relief agencies during the period from October 1, 1932, to July 1, 1933.

In December, 1932, a percentage of relief funds was set aside to provide compensation under the North Carolina law for workers injured on relief projects.

The coöperation of local physicians in giving their services without compensation, in most instances, made it possible to provide medical care for relief clients. No physicians' fees were approved. The purchase of drugs and hospitalization in emergency cases at charity rates were approved. In the early part of the program, no fees for hospitals were paid, and throughout the program, many hospitals continued free care for the clients.

TRAINING OF PERSONNEL

From the beginning, the relief agencies were handicapped by inadequate personnel in investigating and aiding the overwhelming numbers applying for relief. The few trained workers in the state were employed by the relief agencies, and additional workers drawn from the most experienced and qualified persons available. In June, 1933, through the coöperation of the Division of Public Welfare and Social Work of the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, the Governor's Office of Relief was enabled to send to Chapel Hill over one hundred workers for an Institute of one month. The workers were given instruction in case work methods and administration, especially office organization.

In April, 1933, Dr. Morrison resigned as Director of Relief to accept a private position, and the Executive Assistant, Mr. Ronald B. Wilson, was appointed Acting Director. He served in this position until August 8 when the State Relief Commission and a State Emergency Relief Administrator were appointed.

Following the enactment of the Federal Emergency Relief Act in May, 1933, the Relief and Reconstruction Act of 1932 was ineffective as of June 1, and all unused funds were transferred to the FERA. The first ERA funds were received in North Carolina June, 1933. The relief activities in North Carolina were continued under the direction of the Governor's Office of Relief until the reorganization of the administration of relief as the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration on August 8, 1933, to conform with the Federal organization.

The relief program under the Governor's Office of Relief was the pioneer program in the State. There was no precedent to follow. No definite policies nor regulations had been formulated by the Federal Government. Each state was feeling its way on uncharted seas.

North Carolina is largely a rural state. It should be remembered that in 1932, farm land values, and farm incomes reached the lowest ebb. Farmers could not receive sufficient income from the sale of crops to pay even very low rates for farm labor. With this condition, the rate of the minimum of 50c per day on relief work in rural areas presented a problem.

The experiences of these first few months in relief as a governmental activity on a large scale formed the basis on which succeeding programs were founded.

REORGANIZATION OF RELIEF ADMINISTRATION, MAY, 1933

Harry L. Hopkins was appointed Federal Relief Administrator, in May, by the President, following the passage of the Relief Act by Congress. Federal Emergency Relief Field Representatives, Field Engineers, and Special Representatives had general supervision over the State Administration, acting as liaison officers between it and the Federal Administration.

The first grant of Federal funds under the provisions of the Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, was made to North Carolina on May 29, 1933. However, the general reorganization to conform to the policies of the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration did not take place until the creation of the State Emergency Relief Commission, and the appointment, in August, of the State Relief Administrator.

Under the Governor's Office of Relief, which was financed by funds from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, full administrative control of relief policies and expenditures rested in the state. Under the new Federal Emergency Relief Administration, although funds granted the state became state funds, and although the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was a state agency, policies and regulations were prescribed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. The Federal Relief Administrator held direct control over state administrations, through authority provided by the Relief Act, to grant or withhold funds, and to assume full control of state agencies when "in his judgment more effective and efficient coöperation between the state and Federal authorities may thereby be secured in carrying out the purposes of this Act." (See Relief Act of May, 1933, Appendix.)

Funds were granted the state upon application by the Governor, who was requested to furnish the following information with the application: (1) the extent of relief needs in the state, and state and local funds available for relief purposes; (2) the provision made to assure adequate supervision; (3) the provision made for suitable standards of relief; and (4) the purposes for which the funds requested would be used.

THE STATE ORGANIZATION

On August 8, 1933, the Governor of North Carolina appointed an Emergency Relief Commission of five members, and a State Emergency Relief Administrator to administer relief funds in the state.

FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

The North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission functioned as a policy-making body, interpreting policies of the FERA, and formulating policies for the state in harmony with those established by the FERA. It also exercised general advisory control of the relief program and standards in the state. The Commission held regular monthly meetings, and special meetings as occasions arose making consideration by the Commission necessary. The Commission approved and recommended to the Governor the amount of Federal funds required for adequate administration and to meet relief needs.

Administrative authority and responsibility were vested in the State Relief Administrator, who

was directly responsible to the Commission and to the Federal Administrator. The Administrator was responsible for furnishing reliable information to the Commission, at all times, concerning local conditions which indicated relief needs and affected relief administration.

ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL

Immediately upon the appointment of the Commission and the State Administrator, the state relief agency was reorganized, to conform with the new policies of the FERA. The administrative activities fell into three groups, Social Service, Accounting and Auditing, and Work Relief, with a state director for each division. The Director of the Social Service Division had the responsibility of determining social work policies, standards of relief, and the approval of social work personnel in the local administrations.

Control of the accounting and disbursing of relief funds in state and local units was effected by the appointment of a Chief Auditor and a staff of Field Auditors. The Field Auditors were directly responsible to the Chief Auditor, their duties being to examine and ratify the expenditures of local administrations. A uniform system of accounting and financial control was established in all local administrations.

Emergency Relief funds has been disbursed locally by county government officials until the reorganization of ERA in 1934. At this time, ERA bonded disbursing officers were employed in each local administration, responsible to the local administrator, and to the Chief Auditor, for the disbursement of local ERA funds.

A control of work relief standards, and the selection of work projects, was established under a State Works Project Supervisor. A State Statistician was added to the staff who was responsible for the proper reporting of case loads and obligations incurred from all local units to the state office, and then to Washington.

The Transient Division was established under the direction of a State Transient Director, whose duties included directing the care of homeless and nonresident individuals and families.

A Director of Public Relations, to interpret relief policies, and the progress of the relief program to the public, was appointed. These officers, in addition to the Assistant to the State Administrator, the Director of County Administrations, an Accounting Officer, and District Supervisors, composed the administration of the organization prior to CWA. Heads of departments and state staff members were directly responsible to the State Administrator.

The District Supervisors, later called Field Representatives, were directly responsible to the Director of the Division of Social Service and through him to the State Administrator. Although a part of the personnel of the Social Service Division, and selected for their ability to supervise case work, these District Supervisors came to be the general Field Representatives of the State Administrator in the areas to which they were assigned, and were held responsible for the operation of all phases of the program in these areas. When other specialized field representatives were added to the staff during the Civil Works Administration, the former District Supervisors were made the ranking representatives in each division in the state and directly responsible to the State Administrator. The Field Representative stood as a liaison officer between the state office and the local office, interpreting each to the other: policies and regulations on the one hand, and practices, needs, and unusual local situations on the other.

The inauguration of the Civil Works Administration added almost over night engineers, architects, construction men, and the Divisions of Purchasing, Pay Roll, Compensation, Safety, and Women's Work. With further reorganization following CWA, the Rural Rehabilitation program added trained agriculturists, practical farmers, and home economists.

This rapid expansion of the program developed within a few months a direct and work relief,

and rehabilitation organization, employing in state, district, and county organizations over 2,000 persons, with an administrative cost well below the national average. Personnel was selected solely on the basis of qualifications, experience, or training.

COUNTY OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONS

Reorganization of local administrative units followed the reorganization of the State Administration. Since regulations of the FERA required that Federal funds be administered by public agencies, the private agencies formerly directing relief activities in the seven larger towns and cities were taken over by the Emergency Relief Administration and converted into public agencies.

In the counties where the Superintendents of Schools were ex-officio Superintendents of Public Welfare, full-time Relief Administrators were appointed with salaries paid from Federal funds.

The local administrators appointed by the State Administrator were the executives upon whom depended the success of the local relief programs. They had full responsibility and authority for the administration of the relief program in each of the local political subdivisions and were given discretionary powers within the state regulations of the Federal and State Administrations. They were responsible to the State Administrator in the execution of the program. As the program developed, in the local administrations in the larger cities and counties, divisions corresponding to those of the state office were created. The local administrative personnel was selected and appointed by the local administrator, the state administration retaining approval of the supervisory personnel.

The local administrator was responsible for furnishing to the state office full information regarding conditions affecting relief needs, such as agricultural, industrial, and business conditions, seasonal employment, health conditions, and unusual occurrences, such as strikes, epidemics, etc. The coördination of relief activities, commitments against relief funds, certified reports, and information required by the state administration were further responsibilities of the administrator.

County Advisory Committees, composed of public officials, heads of private agencies, and interested socially-minded citizens, were appointed to interpret the relief needs of the community to the administrator and relief policies to the public. Where these committees functioned actively, they rendered valuable service as liaison groups between the relief organization and the public.

With the reorganization of ERA in 1934, a budget was fixed in the state office for each local administration, based on the consideration of: (1) the extent of need as shown by the local administrator's request for funds; and (2) the amount of Federal funds granted the state as a whole. The local administrator was responsible for keeping expenditures within the budget.

CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS

Constant efforts were made to increase the efficiency of the state-wide organization through the adoption of uniform case records, project, accounting, and report forms, and the coördination of administrative procedures. To further reduce administrative expense, increase general efficiency, and to strengthen social work, the local administrations were consolidated, in the fall of 1934, into thirty-three, and later, thirty-one district units, the administrator assuming full authority over the counties in the district.

All social work, engineering, and rural rehabilitation supervision, accounting, disbursing, statistical work, and commodity distribution were consolidated under the appropriate division directors on the district staff. A branch social work office, with a head case worker in charge, was retained in each county, in order to continue close contact with relief clients. An assignment clerk was responsible for assigning clients to work projects, the hours to be worked by the client being governed by his budgetary needs as determined by the case worker. Local farm foremen for rural

rehabilitation clients worked out of each county office. The personnel of the Social Service Division was increased from approximately 600 to about 1,100, while the number of workers in other divisions was decreased. In August, 1935, existing administrative units were consolidated into eight districts to coincide with the eight WPA districts in the state.

Although there is always some waste in a program of such magnitude, the entire relief program has been executed with a keen sense of responsibility, throughout the whole organization, for handling public funds wisely, efficiently, and honestly. The administration kept abreast of the developing program, adjusting the organization to meet demands made upon it, gradually evolving a coördinated administrative control of all relief activities.

THE ADMINISTRATION OF CIVIL WORKS

In November, 1933, when the Civil Works Administration was established, the State and Local ERA Administrators were appointed by the Federal Civil Works Administrator as Civil Works Administrators to act in the dual capacity of Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administrators. The ERA staff members also served in the dual capacity. The Administrator and staff took and subscribed to the Federal Oath of Office.

The State Disbursing Officer for the Veterans Bureau was State Civil Works Disbursing Officer, directly responsible to the United States Treasury Department for all CWA disbursements. Assistant Civil Works Disbursing Officers who disbursed Civil Works funds locally were appointed in the 107 administrative units by the State Civil Works Administration with the approval of the State Disbursing Officer. They were responsible to both the State Disbursing Officer and the State Civil Works Administrator. In addition to the new divisions created, the personnel in all divisions rapidly increased to handle the tremendous Civil Works Program. Copies of all local administrative and project pay rolls and checks were sent to the state office weekly where they were carefully checked and forwarded to the Federal Civil Works Administration in Washington. The administrative control of CWA was in the Federal Administration, but at the close of CWA, administrative control of the work program was transferred to the State Administration.

TREND OF ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, 1933-1936

Before entering upon a discussion of the volume of relief in this state, and other aspects of relief administration, it may be well to notice the general trend of economic conditions between 1933 and 1936. The intention here is not to present an analysis of the economic forces which were operative, but merely to record the fact that conditions grew better through a combination of forces, governmental effort, and the natural forces of recovery.

In discussing general economic recovery, it may be asserted that it is important that incomes become larger. It is more important, however, that such incomes be equitably distributed among individual families. Not the number of dollars, but the purchasing power of each dollar, not the number of persons paying income tax, but incomes among the lowest earning groups; these are the facts that must be considered. Although accurate figures are not available, certain trends are indicated.

Persons on relief rolls come, as a rule, from groups who have had the least economic advantage. It is well known that all classes do not benefit equally with improvement in business conditions. Certain groups are the first to feel the effects of depression and last to receive the advantage of returning prosperity. Generally conceded as falling under this classification are the following: unskilled laborers, both farm and city; farm tenants; and domestic and personal service workers. More than three-fourths of all persons on relief belong in this category. While improvement in

general business is undeniable, it has not as yet had the effect which might be expected upon those on the relief rolls. This is due to a considerable extent to the accident of birth into an unfavorable economic situation rather than to inherent defects, physical or mental. The majority of those on the present work program are able to do a good day's work when given the opportunity. Through no fault of their own, they are a group apart, for whom there is no place in the economic mechanism.

Possibly half of those on relief when the depression was most severe have now found sufficient employment to sustain themselves for the year without the necessity of requesting governmental aid. Another group, certainly over 50,000, cannot live for a year without help at one or more times of seasonal unemployment. They are the victims of changing conditions in agriculture and industry which even a return to the boom conditions of the twenties would not absorb. In addition, there is a large group of persons, variously estimated at from 20,000 to 30,000, who are permanently incapable of earning a living because of old age, mental disease or defect, or physical handicap. These would all come under the proposed Social Security program.

Since North Carolina is predominantly an agricultural state, an examination of certain farm statistics may furnish a clue to some of the economic forces at work during the depression. Farm operators in the Federal farm census of 1935, when compared with the 1930 census, show an increase of 7.6 per cent, or 21,259 family units. This group obviously did not move to the country in order to earn a better living, but they migrated as a last resource when all hope of making a livelihood in town was gone. In most cases it meant a definite lowering in their standards. During this same period, there was a reduction of about 670,000 acres in cotton and 200,000 acres in tobacco compared with an increase of 445,000 acres of corn, 456,000 acres of hay, and 143,000 acres of wheat.

Although acreage of cash crops decreased, the higher prices received have actually meant a greater net income to farm owners. In 1932, cash income from all North Carolina crops was $81,136,000, while, in 1934, it had jumped to $223,730,000. As for tenants, and more especially farm laborers, it is doubtful if their position has improved. The crops substituted for cotton and tobacco are such as require much less hand labor. Agriculture in the state is becoming better balanced at the expense of work opportunities for farm laborers. In certain sections, a trend toward the payment of day wages rather than tenant contracts has been noted. Such a system would greatly increase the severity of seasonal unemployment in agriculture.

Figures concerning industrial employment are not available, but from the experience of local relief administrators, certain facts appear. All three of North Carolina's chief industries show wide seasonal variations. Stemming and redrying of tobacco employ many unskilled and semiskilled persons during the fall and early winter, but employment declines abruptly just at the time when the demand for farm labor is at its lowest point. Each year a great increase in case load was noted in late winter in all the important tobacco centers. By spring, many of these same people were engaged in farm work and did not need help again until the following January.

The dull season for the textile industry occurs during mid-summer when most mills operate only part time and many close altogether. This phenomenon was observed during each of the past three summers. Dwellers in mill villages have little chance to secure other income when the local plant closes, since more than most groups they are dependent upon a single occupation. Conditions during the past four years have not changed greatly, although in the summer of 1935, the dull period was more severe than usual, lasting in some sections for more than five months.

There was a decided increase in private building during 1935 which has continued into 1936. However, it has little effect upon the relief rolls, as this work employs largely skilled artisans who have never constituted a significant number of those requiring Federal aid. Retail business, likewise, has improved without reducing the need for relief. Based on figures for March, 1935, and January, 1936, there has been some lessening in the number of domestic and personal service workers on

relief. Better business has caused an increased demand for servants, but at wages that are still pitifully inadequate.

The general picture is one of small gains here and losses there, with no decided reduction in the severity of seasonal influences nor increase in the purchasing power of the ordinary laboring man, whether on farm or in factory. Such slight stimulus as was given by the NRA has now been lost.

The factors discussed above may be examined briefly, as they bear upon conditions in the three chief geographical divisions of the state, namely the mountain, piedmont, and coastal plain areas.

MOUNTAIN AREA

The mountains of North Carolina, justly famed for their scenic beauty, afford their inhabitants only the barest living, below all minimum standards of well-being. From the very first days of relief, this area proved to be the most intense problem in the entire state, and with the improvement in general economic conditions, this section has shown least change. It is primarily a land of small home owners who grow their own food on the small amount of productive land which is available and depend on outside employment for the little cash income they are able to obtain. Even before 1929, they were in distressed circumstances, due to the depletion of timber resources and the lack of demand for mineral products. With the depression, two important sources of supplementary income disappeared entirely, namely, the sale of wood products, flora, and herbs and the trade with tourists in handicraft articles. Probably the greatest hope for the future in Western North Carolina lies not in industry but in the development of recreational areas which will attract tourists from the urban centers of the east and the middle west. At present a National park-to-park highway is actually under construction.

PIEDMONT AREA

The piedmont area is the center of the industrial life of the state, where are located most of the important textile, tobacco, and furniture factories. Agriculture is also important, with diversified farming in the western part, cotton in the south and east, and tobacco in the north. There has been a gradual decline in the rural case load, but the urban load has been subject to violent fluctuations due to mills closing. Local conditions, such as floods, droughts, hail storms, etc., have affected agriculture in limited areas, but the problem has not become very serious, and it is the general impression that the entire rural population is considerably better off now than two years ago. In the cities there is a large population now employed on the Works Program who would not possibly be absorbed by private employment even under best conditions. They are the group which suffers from technological improvements that allow business to produce the same output with less manpower.

COASTAL PLAIN

The coastal plain is a predominantly rural area, with the chief crops consisting of tobacco, cotton, peanuts, potatoes, and early vegetables. Industries are few, the most important being the highly seasonal one of processing tobacco. There are a few cotton mills, fertilizer factories, saw mills, and cotton seed and peanut oil mills operating mostly only part of the year.

This is distinctly an area of cash crops and large plantations operated by tenants and day laborers. As such, it benefited most from higher agricultural prices, although it is doubtful to what extent relief clients have benefited proportionately. Seasonal labor, both in town and country, presents a problem for which, as yet, there is no solution. In the tidewater country is an area of very high relief case load due partially to the severe storm of 1933 and to the depressed condition of the fishing industry. The fisherman's coöperative is a method of helping these people to become self-supporting. The only hope of prosperity in the tidewater region is in the development of the sea food industry.

VOLUME OF RELIEF

In February, 1933, the number of families and single persons on relief reached the peak of 176,124, or 27.3 per cent of the state's population. In June, 1933, this number had been reduced to 102,744 including 14,871 recipients of American Red Cross flour and other commodities only, or 16.0 per cent of the state's population. In June, 1933, those aided from public funds only (not including American Red Cross commodities) number 87,873. Due to discontinuing relief in rural areas on account of the harvesting of crops, the case load dropped to 55,054 in September.

In 1934, the highest number of families and single persons on relief was 96,230 in March, the lowest number, 62,207 in October. The average for the year was 76,175, or 11.8 per cent of the state's population.

In 1935, the peak was 74,155 cases in January. In June, 62,010 were on relief. The average for the first six months was 68,907 cases, or 10.7 per cent of the state's population. The case load dropped very rapidly the last six months of 1935 as clients were arbitrarily cut off due to the reduction in Federal grants to the state and the starting of WPA projects in October. In November, there were 42,919 on relief, and for December, 14,986 received relief through December 5, when relief was discontinued in the state.

The relief population was constantly changing; as persons on relief found employment or sources of income were available, their cases were closed. Others, as their resources were exhausted, came on relief for the first time. A third group included those who had been on relief, but having found only temporary or seasonal work, were forced to come back on relief, and were known as re-opened cases. This case load turnover given below depicts clearly the constantly changing relief population.

For comparison, the case load turnover is given, by seasons, for the winter months from November, 1934, through April, 1935, and for the summer months from May, 1935, through October, 1935. This includes only those who were accepted for relief. Approximately 60 per cent of applicants was accepted as relief cases.

APRIL, 1933, THROUGH DECEMBER, 1935 N.C.ERA

* The increase in obligations incurred during the second quarter of 1935 was due to the rapid expansion of the Rural Rehabilitation Program in North Carolina. That expansion included purchases for fertilizers, seed, farm equipment and stock in addition to subsistence grants to Rural Rehabilitation clients all over and above the regular functions of the Emergency Relief Program. Seasonal farm activities made necessary this enlarged expenditure.

The figures given on page 37 do not include students aided from Federal funds, Emergency Relief teachers, nor transients. Homeless families and transient individuals aided from June, 1933, to December, 1935, totaled 122,144.

The case load in rural areas (5,000 population and under, and in open country), for June, 1935, as shown on chart "Residence of Relief Cases," page 36, was 62.2 per cent of the total relief population.

COST OF RELIEF

The total grants for relief from October 1, 1932, through May 31, 1933, from Federal funds (RFC) were $5,950,000.00; from local public funds and private funds, $2,384,963.00. Total funds were $8,334,963.00. As stated in previous section, prior to June 1, contributions from private sources to relief were reported as local contributions. Subsequent to June 1, 1933, although contributions were made from private agencies and disbursed by ERA, Federal regulations permitted only appropriations from public funds that were disbursed by ERA to be reported and considered as state and local aid.

The total grants for relief purposes from FERA funds from June 1, 1933, through December 5, 1935, were $39,898,184.00, and $12,155,000.00 from CWA, making a total of $52,053,184.00 from Federal funds. Of this amount, $225,000.00 was transferred to the State Public Welfare Department, and $300,000.00 set aside for liquidation of the relief administration, including adjustment of all outstanding obligations, final auditing of all expenditures, disposition of equipment, etc. Federal grants were supplemented with local government expenditures of $679,310.46; total funds for all purposes, $52,732,494.46.

The expenditures, by quarters, dating from April, 1933, are shown on the Chart on page 40. This does not include funds transferred to the State Public Welfare Department, surplus commodities, self-help coöperatives, pay roll for white collar workers on WPA projects, purchases of materials and equipment for WPA, nor research and vocational projects after December 1.

The "Average Relief Benefits per Capita," page 42, differs widely in the various counties, due to the local conditions and to the size of the relief population. The highest per capita cost is usually found in counties having the highest percentage of the population on relief, which usually indicates low number of work opportunities, or low sources of income from lands, crop production, and market values.

"The Average Benefits per Person," as shown on page 43, was generally low in mountain and coastal counties, and was influenced by standards of living, health conditions, and type of subsistence found in the counties. In mountain counties, families more frequently had chickens, milk products, eggs, and small subsistence gardens. Their greatest need was clothes, while in coastal counties the people subsisted largely of fish, oysters, etc. There winters are mild, and heavy clothing is not so necessary.

The average benefit per relief person for 1933 was $19.53; for 1934, $27.11; for 1935, $32.98. The average for the entire period was $26.54.

The cost of relief for single persons is higher proportionately than for family groups as shown by the Chart on page 134, "Average Relief Benefits per Person by Size of Family--February, 1935." Contrary to the general impression that the families on relief are usually larger families, it was also found that the moderate sized family composed the largest number on relief. (See Charts, on pages 136 and 138, "Size of Family-Relief and General Population.")

SOURCE OF FUNDS

Unemployment relief in North Carolina was financed primarily from Federal funds. No funds were appropriated by the General Assembly, and the only state aid was in the form of an allocation of $1,500,000.00 from the highway fund for employment of persons on relief by the state on highway construction and maintenance, and since June, 1933, $679,310.46 from local public funds.

STATE AID

The Federal Emergency Relief Act provided that funds should be granted to states on a two-thirds matching basis, or on an unmatched basis to states demonstrating that available funds from all sources were inadequate to meet the requirements. After a complete investigation of the state's resources and bonded indebtedness by Federal Emergency Relief Agents, grants were made to North Carolina on the unmatched basis. It was on the basis of information secured from this investigation that in the fall of 1934, the Federal Emergency Relief Administrator in conference with the Governor agreed on a plan whereby $1,500,000 might be allocated from the state highway funds to employ workers from relief rolls on construction and maintenance of highways. Pursuant to this agreement, the Governor recommended, and the General Assembly of 1935 allocated $1,500,000 for this purpose effective July 1, 1935.

In considering state aid, the bonded indebtedness and constitutional limitation for borrowing, as well as the sacrifice the state had made to preserve its school system and entire economic structure, should be kept clearly in mind. The bonded indebtedness of the state as of December 31, 1934, totaled $174,156,000, and as of December 31, 1935, it was $170,644,000. The constitution of the state limits the net debt of the state to 7.5 per cent of the assessed valuation, subject to deduction of sinking funds and certain state investments. The assessed valuation in 1933 was $2,089,209,000 which was 75 per cent of the true valuation. Seven and one-half per cent of the assessed value was $156,690,000, the difference in this sum and the total indebtedness being due to refunding, etc. It is noted, therefore, that North Carolina had reached its constitutional limitation for borrowing.

The bonded indebtedness of the 100 counties as of December 31, 1935, amounted to $158,927,000, with defaults as of same date amounting to $13,074,000.

For cities and towns, the bonded indebtedness as of December 31, 1935, amounted to $152,316,000, with defaults as of same date of $10,400,000.

The total bonded indebtedness for state, counties, cities and towns as of December 31, 1935, was $481,887,000.

Although not contributing directly to relief, North Carolina prevented an increase in relief rolls in 1933 by adopting the "state-wide" school system, supported entirely from state funds. In taking over the schools, supported in part by 3 per cent sales tax, the state lifted a great tax burden from the home owner and saved thousands of persons the loss of their homes and farms from failure to pay taxes. By thus reducing the burden of local governments, they were aided in meeting their own fiscal problems and enabled to contribute to relief.

In 1933, in the majority of states, the public schools which had been closed on account of the depletion of funds were reopened and maintained through special grants from the FERA to the states for that purpose. North Carolina, by assuming this burden of school maintenance, not only prevented large numbers from going on relief, but by frugality saved the structure of its school system and made it unnecessary for the FERA to grant additional funds to North Carolina to reopen and maintain closed schools as it had done in other states. When it was found, however, that the revenue from the sales tax would be insufficient to pay teachers their full eighth month's salary, a special grant of $500,000 was made by FERA to complete the salaries of those teachers who were shown to be potential relief persons.

* BASED ON AVERAGE RELIEF FIGURES AND AVERAGE ESTIMATED POPULATION

INTENSITY* OF GENERAL RELIEF IN THE UNITED STATES JULY 1933 - JUNE 1935

* PERCENTAGE OF ESTIMATED POPULATION ON RELIEF

COUNTY AID

In 1933, sixty-one of the 100 counties in North Carolina and 100 towns and cities were in default on bonds, bond interest, or both. Notwithstanding this financial condition, the counties maintained very nearly their normal aid for public welfare and relief purposes, and supplemented Federal funds with local appropriations for relief.

In 1933, the counties appropriated $1,943,587.58 (including American Red Cross funds and private contributions during the period January-May, 1933) to unemployment relief. In 1934, the expenditure through ERA was $189,191.01. In 1935, the expenditure was reduced to $48,557.87. The reduction was due to the counties having the care of the unemployables turned back to them by ERA in January, 1935, and the responsibility becoming that of the local governments.

For the fiscal year July 1, 1933-June 30, 1934, the counties spent $1,226,341.00 for dependents and indigents in outside aid, boarding children, and mothers' aid, hospitalization, and medical care. For the year 1935-36, the budget for these purposes is $1,241,218.00. The administrative budget for the Welfare Departments is $194,726.40, making a total of $1,440,944.40.

During the period of October, 1932, through May, 1933, when Federal aid was granted to the states from RFC funds, local funds, whether appropriations from local governmental units or private contributions, were received and disbursed by the local Relief Administration and credited to the state as local contributions to relief. Under the provisions of the Emergency Relief Act of May, 1933, although private contributions were made to the local Emergency Relief Administrations, only appropriations made from public funds were credited as local contributions, and funds used by the state or local governments for maintaining their normal responsibility, such as hospitalization, relief of outside poor, mothers aid, etc., could not be reported as appropriations to relief.

GRANTS BY THE STATE ADMINISTRATION TO THE COUNTIES

Grants were made by the State Emergency Relief Administration to the counties on the basis of number of families on relief, their needs, and conditions in the counties influencing relief needs.

Each month the district administrator was required to send in a report form showing the number of persons on relief and expenditures for the current month, and the estimated number and needs for the ensuing month, probable available work opportunities, opening or closing of industrial plants, seasonal employment, and unusual conditions affecting relief, such as droughts, heavy rains, strikes, epidemics, business trends, etc. Also a form showing the cost of administration was required. These budgets were carefully studied and compared with the previous month's application and expenditures, and with the Field Auditor's report on the previous month's expenditures of the local administration.

A budget was then fixed for the administration of each district, and a budget for relief in each county, according to the indicated needs of the county and the limitations of funds granted to the state by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Allocations were then earmarked for administration and relief.

The downward change in relief loads and allotments to certain rural counties was due to improvements in agricultural conditions through the AAA. In other rural counties, a heavy rainy season or drought causing crop failure increased the load. Seasonal industrial employment, such as tobacco factories employing large numbers of persons, reduced the load.

RELIEF STANDARDS

Relief investigations are at best humiliating experiences to the persons applying for aid. Because, however, there were always persons who made no effort to earn a living, those who through ignorance thought "help from the government was for everybody" and those who felt they were entitled to more than necessities, it was necessary to conduct rigid investigations of all applicants. The regulations of FERA required that the minimum investigations include home visits by the social worker and a check of all resources of the family, probable aid from relatives and friends, work habits, etc.

The relief standards were determined by the grants to the states and were never at any time sufficient to provide adequate aid. The grants to the state were not increased proportionately to the increase in cost of food, clothing, fuel, rents, etc. Although the average benefits per family increased in 1934 and the first six months of 1935, the cost of living had increased to the extent that the value of the dollar was from one-third to one-half less than in 1933, therefore, even with the increased grants to the family, relief was not so adequate.

DIRECT AND WORK RELIEF

It was the policy of the N. C. ERA to provide work relief, as far as possible, instead of direct relief, which consisted of cash grants to the family or orders for subsistence. Work relief was discontinued altogether, except in a few cities, in July, 1933, when a minimum wage of 30 cents an hour was fixed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, as this wage was much above the level of wages in practically all sections of the state, due to the extremely depressed condition on industry, business, and the value of farm produce. At that time, farmers could not sell their farm products for enough to pay even low wages to laborers.

CWA definitely established a work program of heavier construction projects at higher wages. Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 persons were employed on work projects when CWA was established on November 15, 1933. As only 50 per cent of the original CWA quota of workers for the state was drawn from relief rolls, the number of relief clients on CWA projects never exceeded 34,000, and a large relief load remained to be aided by direct relief from ERA funds. When the quota was increased by approximately 11,000 workers, with the exception of employable women who were not fitted for CWA projects, these workers were drawn from the unemployed rather than from relief rolls.

With the close of CWA on March 31, 1933, the works program was transferred to ERA with the following definite changes:

(1) CWA was designed to furnish work to the unemployed and to create purchasing power rather than provide a subsistence income. Fifty per cent of the persons employed were not necessarily eligible for relief. Under the new Emergency Relief Program, the work program was reëstablished as work relief, restricting employment to those persons eligible for relief, with the exception of the necessary amount of non-relief skilled labor required to give the maximum amount of employment to those eligible for relief. The number of hours of work was determined by relief needs.

(2) Work projects started under CWA were completed by the Emergency Relief Administration as far as possible; new work projects, however, were developed on the basis of the type of relief labor available in the community.

(3) Under the new ERA program, employment was largely restricted to urban and industrial areas. In rural areas, emphasis was placed on rehabilitation through the usual occupation of farming, and on especially designed programs for stranded populations.

REORGANIZATION OF ERA

Immediately following the close of CWA, the entire program of ERA was reorganized with three major divisions, Social Service, Works, and Rehabilitation.

THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION

Under the new program, the Social Service Division became the foundation of all other divisions. It was the "hub of the wheel"; it had the full responsibility for determining who was eligible for direct relief, work relief, and rehabilitation, the extent of need, the budgetary deficiency (the number of work hours per week depended upon this budgetary deficiency), of assisting the individual and the family with its varied problems, including fitness and adaptability to work, and of encouraging and assisting the family in securing private employment. Through the efforts of the case workers, hundreds of clients secured private employment each month. An example, in one county, the case worker, by personally securing jobs for the clients, in one month reduced the case load in her territory by half.

Greater emphasis was placed on improved standards of social work. Following the consolidation of counties into districts, and during this period from December, 1934, until the close of relief, December 5, 1935, the ERA made rapid strides in the social work field. In addition to the available trained social workers for supervision, workers were recruited from the ranks of those qualified by experience and adaptability. Training courses were given the social workers to increase their skill in dealing with human problems.

RURAL REHABILITATION

North Carolina has long been interested in a sound program to enable rural families to become self-supporting and independent on "owned" farms. The extensive tenant system has been a millstone around the necks of both the tenant and the landlord, a condition aggravated by the depression, and which threw the tenant on relief and made borderline cases of formerly successful farmers who were unable to carry their tenants. The past Governor initiated the "Live at Home" program to induce farmers to produce their own foods and feed crops and a surplus to yield an income through sales to inhabitants in towns. Both the past and present Governor emphasized newer methods of farming, conservation of soil, and gave their full support for the enrichment of rural life. In 1933, N. C. ERA authorized a survey of farm tenant families in eleven counties, which was used as a basis in a rural rehabilitation plan proposed by the Emergency Relief Director of Social Work to FERA preceding the inauguration of the Rural Rehabilitation program in 1934.

Approximately 65 per cent of the families on relief live in towns under 5,000 and in open country. N. C. ERA laid the foundation for a Rural Rehabilitation program in 1933 when aid was extended to about 30,000 families through small loans for subsistence farming and livestock. A large number of them paid back their loans in full. In 1934, a permanent fund was set up through organization of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, for the purpose of financing these families over a period of years, advancing to them funds for lease and purchase of land, subsistence, purchase of work stock, farm implements, fertilizer, etc., to enable them to earn a living through farming. Families to the number of 7,800 were taken off relief and placed on a self-sustaining basis through this program. Careful supervision of farming and conservation of food was provided. The clients were in the midst of their harvesting of crops when the management of the Rural Rehabilitation program was transferred, in August, to the Rural Resettlement Administration. A complete audit of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation as of June 30, 1935, shows a net worth at that time of $3,081,011.23.

WORKS DIVISION

The gradual replacement of work relief for direct relief was one of the most significant developments of the ERA. The purpose of the works program was three-fold.

(1) To maintain the morale and self-respect of persons receiving relief, by giving them an opportunity to earn their own living at fair wages;

(2) To preserve self-reliance and independence;

(3) To provide in each community, in return for money expended, projects which were of a definite social and economic value.

The progress of the works program was impeded both by regulations and by local conditions, such as:

(1) Lack of funds for materials and the inability of local communities to furnish them;

(2) The fact that only one member of a family was allowed to work at a time;

(3) Hours of work were limited--and no person could exceed in work hours his relief budget, which was limited by the amount of funds granted to the state, preventing continuity of work on a project;

(4) The small percentage of skilled and semi-skilled workers on relief created a difficult problem in completing these projects requiring skilled workmanship which were started under CWA. With increased private building, there was an upswing of demand for skilled laborers in private work, with a consequent decrease of the comparatively small percentage of such eligible workers on projects;

(5) Due to the scattered relief population, it was difficult to initiate projects in many sections.

Notwithstanding these limitations, there were 44,291 relief persons at work in May, 1935 (exclusive of Emergency Relief teachers and students).

BENEFITS

The Emergency Relief Program has not only provided the bare necessities and health protection to thousands of families, allayed the unrest and strengthened the morale of persons in desperate need, but the millions of dollars spent in purchasing food, clothing, household supplies, fertilizer, farm implements, tools and materials for work projects, have stimulated business and industry throughout the state. Under competent supervision of the work program, results of permanent value to the whole state have been realized in the construction of public buildings, highways, bridges, drainage and sanitation, conservation of natural resources, recreational facilities, etc. The services to the general public can best be interpreted through the achievements of the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina.

The earnings on the work relief program varied greatly in the state, as shown by the chart on page 58, "Work Relief Earnings as a Per Cent of Total Relief Granted." The variations were due: (1) to the density and location of the relief population making projects possible; (2) the employability of persons on relief; (3) the occupational type of persons on relief in a community--fitting the project to the worker; and (4) the ability and willingness of local governmental agencies to coöperate by furnishing materials, equipment, and the use of existing facilities.

The work program under both CWA and ERA has included every type of work from making garments in sewing rooms, and mattress making, to heavy construction, such as airports, reservoirs, schools, county homes, community houses, sewerage disposal systems, parks, graveled and hard-surfaced roads, in addition to research and survey projects.

Under CWA alone, over $6,500,000 was spent in building and repairing schools and gymnasiums and in building and improving roads in every county of the state. Under CWA and ERA, eighty-four school gymnasiums and six school auditoriums were built. Twenty-one concrete swimming pools, equipped with filtering systems (not including the pool at Asheville which was almost completed when transferred to WPA), and twenty-two community houses were constructed, in addition to numerous parks and playgrounds, which have enhanced the recreational facilities in these communities. The North Carolina State College concrete stadium, seating 8,000 persons, was constructed by ERA in a little more than six weeks.

The intra-mural athletic field of the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, is considered one of the finest in the South. Complete sewerage or water work systems have been constructed in many towns that would not have had them otherwise. In Asheville, Biltmore Street, Merrimon Avenue, and Broadway were widened by taking off fronts of all stores, setting them back, and rebuilding, work requiring expert skill. Seven airports were built, the Raleigh airport being considered one of the finest in the eastern United States. To increase resources of eastern Carolina, over one million bushels of oysters were planted and propagated in North Carolina waters under the supervision of the State Department of Conservation and Development at an average cost of $0.079 per bushel.

DRAINAGE FOR MALARIA CONTROL

Prior to the Civil Works Administration, the ERA had undertaken a major work program, which was continued throughout the Civil Works Administration and into the reorganized Emergency Relief Administration, for the control of malaria by drainage, as malaria, prevalent in eastern North Carolina, influences both the health and economic status of the community. In malarious sections, a large number of relief clients were victims of malaria, and much of the indolence of people may be traced to malaria as it so depreciates strength and vitality as to seriously impair both the earning capacity and the power of thought. It has been shown that persons so infected are only two-thirds efficient. Experience in factories located in swamp or low areas has been that following malaria control the efficiency of workers increased from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.

With the objective of reducing relief rolls by increasing the employability of relief clients, in October, 1933, the N. C. ERA and the State Board of Health, conforming to plans worked out jointly by the United States Public Health Service and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, agreed upon a coöperative plan of drainage for malaria control which has resulted in one of the most beneficial and constructive projects of the administration. No drainage project was approved unless first approved by the State Board of Health. All drainage projects were supervised by the State Board of Health through the coöperation of the United States Public Health Service, the CWA and ERA employing a complete staff of trained engineers working under the direction of the Special Drainage Engineer of the State Board of Health. The figures given in the drainage section of the Works Division report show the extent and value of this program.

The Sanitation Program, operated on a similar plan and under the supervision of the State Board of Health, has improved the sanitation conditions in every county in the state. Particular emphasis was given to improving sanitation facilities of public schools.

SAFETY

The North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has had a remarkably low accident record under the direction of the Safety Division. The accident frequency was eleven hours out of every million hours of work under ERA, while the record of CWA was higher, being thirty-one hours. It must be taken into consideration, however, that under CWA the workers were untrained and were not always placed on job according to their skill, and also that the Safety Division was newly organized.

As the program developed, classes were initiated to give instruction in first aid, in coöperation with the American Red Cross, and a system for strict safety control was observed.

EDUCATION

Under the Educational Program, supervised jointly by the State Department of Public Instruction and the ERA, 2,200 unemployed teachers were given work. Thousands of people were taught to read and write and as many more received instruction in vocational educational classes. In the year 1934-35, 2,949 students were enabled to attend college through Student Aid.

Vocational rehabilitation formed an important phase of this program.

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

The ERA was the selecting and enrollment agency for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Each quota of CCC enrollees was filled on time by ERA. The basic quota for North Carolina was 11,080. From June 15 to October, 1935, a total of 8,670 boys was enrolled. North Carolina received an additional quota on account of the failure of other states to fill their quotas, so that in one month 2,000 additional boys were enrolled. Of the 8,670 boys enrolled, 69.2 per cent was boys under twenty-one years of age. This group just entering young manhood was eager and anxious when given the opportunity to do something for themselves, their parents, and their state.

THE SELF-HELP FISHING COOPERATIVE

The organization of the Self-Help Fishing Coöperative, the North Carolina Fisheries, Incorporated, is one of the outstanding work relief and rehabilitation projects, designed to permanently rehabilitate and remove approximately 3,500 fishermen on the coast from relief rolls. A State Self-Help Corporation was organized and a grant of $29,000 was made by FERA to be loaned to the Coöperative as an operating fund for three months. The Fisheries began operations October 7, 1935. From present indications, this Coöperative is practically self-supporting and will probably not require further loans.

The freezing and processing plants at Morehead, Southport, Swansboro, and Manteo were built by ERA. Substantial contributions of materials were made by the towns, and building sites were donated. The loans to the Fisheries on the buildings and operations, secured by notes and mortgages on property, are to be repaid to the Corporation for the establishment of other coöperatives.

As a result, the fishermen who have been producing members of the Coöperative have been self-sustaining since the plants have been in operation. One fishing community of thirty families which had been on relief since Federal funds were granted in 1932 averaged in October and November $37.00 per family per week.

DROUGHT CATTLE

In July, 1934, the Federal Government requested the state to pasture and care for cattle purchased by FERA in the drought area of the middle west. Through this program, not only were millions of cattle saved from starvation, but the livestock owners were prevented from becoming recipients of relief through complete loss of all resources, and work as well as food was provided for relief clients in the states to which the cattle were shipped for pasture and slaughter. By the end of October, 101,000 cows were received in North Carolina by ERA, tested, vaccinated, and reshipped to pastures. Over 26,000 of these cows were later shipped out of the state by order of the FERA. The remaining were slaughtered and distributed as fresh or canned meat. The total cost of this program, including construction of testing pens, stockyards, canneries, and abattoirs, pasture rentals, fencing, herding, etc., was approximately $3,350,000. The average cost per pound can for all canned meat, including cost of entire program, was 17 cents.

TRANSIENTS

The transient centers and work camps cared for 122,144 homeless individuals and families. The transients worked for their maintenance in the centers.

SURVEY AND RESEARCH PROJECTS

Research and Survey projects to secure information and compile data have been invaluable in furnishing a factual basis for relief and other emergency programs and Federal agencies. The Rural Rehabilitation program was largely based on the surveys on "Rural Relief Families in North Carolina," "The Problem of the Displaced Farm Tenant," "Rural Problem Localities," "Current Changes in Rural Relief Populations," "The Status of Relief Families After ERA," "Study of 1,000 Rural Relief and Non-Relief Households," conditions in cotton-growing counties. The surveys on industrial tobacco centers and the occupational surveys in the larger cities revealed valuable information for urban relief.

The bill for Unemployment Insurance introduced in the 1935 General Assembly was based on the information secured from the Survey for Unemployment Insurance.

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION

The Rural Electrification Survey in North Carolina was the first to be completed in the United States and is now being used by the North Carolina Rural Electrification Authority as a basis for its program. Three rural lines were completed in Orange, Hoke, and Wilson counties, totaling twenty-two miles.

SOCIAL SECURITY

In view of the Social Security Program, and in order to furnish the state with facts concerning persons on relief rolls who will be eligible to share in the benefits of the Social Security Program, the ERA Social Service Division, under the direction of Mr. J. S. Kirk, completed a survey of relief families who were on relief during 1934 and 1935. This survey reveals approximately 29,372 families in which there are single or multiple problems involving over 65,206 persons eligible to participate in the benefits of the Social Security Program. There are approximately 16,313 persons 65 years of age or over eligible for old age assistance, including the aged unemployables turned back to the counties in January, 1935.

THE DOLE?

This program which has been commonly referred to as the "dole" has been a real work program as shown by the photographs of work projects which are included in this report. It was designed to give employment to persons from every strata of society who were found eligible for relief. In spite of the fact that the case load included thousands of persons who can never work on account of physical and mental handicaps, 67 per cent of the entire case load was on the works program in one month during 1935. The average for the entire year of 1935 was 62 per cent. It was not unusual to find 90 per cent at work in certain counties. The peak of employment was reached under CWA. In a single week, 72,533 were at work. The maximum payroll for any one week was $931,709,28.

COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES

Throughout the duration of the Unemployment Relief Program, the state and local relief administrations have given full coöperation to other permanent and emergency agencies, both state and Federal, to insure the maximum benefits of public funds through coördinated programs.

With the establishment of the new work program in July, 1935, the services of ERA personnel

were freely given in assisting the new WPA to get underway. Social records were transferred to the State Public Welfare Department and office furniture was made available. Materials, equipment, tools, and trucks were transferred with projects to WPA and office space made available. While priority consideration was given to the needs of WPA, the same services were made available to the Resettlement Administration and other emergency agencies.

As this report goes to press, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration is nearing the liquidation of a program of thirty months' duration. The objectives of this program, its methods, and its effects in general social and economical evolution, are not as yet far enough removed from the present problems relative to unemployment, and present methods of alleviating its ills, which are still in an experimental stage, for an evaluation of the program to be made. A true evaluation can be made only in future years.

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on two and a half years of experience in the administration of relief, the following observations and recommendations are made. With general improvement in business, there has been a noticeable gain in employment, but there is little hope that the thousands of unemployed persons soon will be absorbed in gainful occupations. For the few thousands whose conditions have improved, there is corresponding suffering for many thousands in the state who have not found private employment and who, because of limitations of the program, could not be certified for relief. With the discontinuance of relief in December, more than 30,000 employable persons left on relief rolls became local charges. These employables have added to a burden which local communities have been unable to meet, that of caring for the unemployables turned back to them by ERA in January, 1935. The reduction of workers on WPA, increasing still further the burden, has created a situation with which the local governments are utterly unable to cope. Any permanent solution of these problems demands thoughtful and coördinated local, state, and Federal effort, and must be the outgrowth of careful study, social planning, and sound legislation.

It is hoped that the state will as soon as possible enact further appropriate legislation in order that participation in all the benefits of the Federal Social Security Act will provide necessary assistance to all unemployable persons in distress.

(1) It is recommended that pending further state legislation to provide participation in all the benefits of the Social Security Act, that the Federal Government renew the grants to the state for direct relief to assist the local governments in more adequate care of unemployables, and to meet the needs of those employables not provided with work on WPA and other emergency work programs.

Work opportunities provided from public funds should be on the basis of need and not limited by mandatory regulations that recipients of relief benefits should have been on relief within a specified period. The limitations of the work program have resulted in hardship and suffering for those who had the initiative and ambition to seek and secure seasonal employment, or have precluded employment on public works for those whose resources were subsequently depleted, resulting in the discouragement of those who make every effort toward self-support or even temporary independence.

(2) It is recommended that the regulations of the present Federal works program be made sufficiently flexible to provide that the certification of workers on emergency works programs be made on the basis of their current need of relief without fixed limitations as to time of having been in need and on relief rolls. It is further recommended that direct relief be granted or other provisions made for those persons who are unable to work on projects because of inaccessibility or other reasons.

Through a survey in thirteen counties representing a cross-section of North Carolina, of all rural families on relief, it was found that 51 per cent appeared capable of gainful farming. It was demonstrated

by the ERA that with financial aid and proper supervision the majority of these rural families made substantial progress toward becoming self-supporting and that several years would be the minimum time in which these families would be able to become independent. "To aid these prospects to become farm owners would be both financial and human economy."*

* Rural Relief Families in North Carolina, by Gordon Blackwell.

(3) It is recommended that greater emphasis be placed on the restoration of destitute rural families, with a provision for adequate social work supervision to aid in adjusting family problems and farm supervision for successful farm operations, and that any program of rural rehabilitation should include state supervision and should be made sufficiently flexible to meet local conditions.

Thousands of persons have been dislodged from their normal occupations and homes by conditions created by the economic depression. These people have drifted into communities where they have no legal settlement, and therefore no legal right to local relief, since under the law of this and many other states neither the state nor local political sub-divisions may use public funds to relieve non-resident persons. The effort of a family or individual to seek opportunities for self-betterment is a commendable objective. Owing to the diversity of legal settlement laws in the states, homeless transients are often inhumanly passed back and forth by local and state agencies until all legal settlement is lost. Of the 122,144 transients assisted in transient centers and work camps in North Carolina from June, 1934, through December, 1935, more than 78 per cent was interstate transients, the remaining number was intrastate. A substantial number was seeking health or economic betterment in other sections of the state or in other states. It is evident that the transient problem is both permanent and interstate in its scope. The past two years of Federal aid to the homeless transient have demonstrated that on a national plan these conditions can be alleviated.

(4) It is recommended that the states liberalize their legal settlement laws so as to attain uniformity throughout the nation, and that pending such action, legal settlement of non-residents be determined or verified on a social work principle of the welfare of the family or person and that emergency relief on a case work basis be provided for non-residents, if needed, in the form of relief or care. It is also recommended that the states make possible their full coöperation to the Federal government in a permanent Federal-state transient program to be administered and financed according to the principles of grants-in-aid laid down in the Social Security Act. Pending the attainment of these objectives, it is recommended that the Federal government renew its program of direct and work relief to transients.

Understanding and skill are essential in dealing with human problems. The experience of the Emergency Relief Administration has demonstrated that training and efficiency are necessary for all welfare workers to successfully assist in the adjustment of family problems.

(5) It is therefore recommended that a Civil Service plan be established for the selection of all social service and welfare workers, and pending the establishment of Civil Service requirements that the selection of welfare and social service workers be on the merit system.

CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

THE SPECIFIC SET-UP AND PROCEDURE OF CWA AS OUTLINED BY MR. HOPKINS IN HIS SPEECH OF NOVEMBER 15, 1933

"The purpose of the Federal Civil Works Administration is to provide regular work on public works at regular wages for unemployed persons able and willing to work.

"The Board of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works has allocated to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration $400,000,000 for this purpose.

"The Federal Emergency Relief Administrator is the Administrator of the Federal Civil Works Administration.

"The Federal Civil Works Administrator will appoint the state and local Civil Works Administrations.

"It is the intention of the Federal Civil Works Administrator to use, in so far as practicable, existing work divisions of the federal, state, and local Emergency Relief Administrations. Additional technical personnel, if found necessary, will be appointed by the Federal Civil Works Administrator.

"It is contemplated that all persons on work-relief and all work-relief projects under way as of November 16, 1933, in order to share in the funds available for Civil Works projects, are to be transferred between November 16 and 19 to the Civil Works Administration.

"The objective of the Civil Works Administration is the employment of 4,000,000 persons by December 15, 1933. Two million of these persons receiving relief on November 16, 1933, either as work-relief or direct relief, are to be employed on Civil Works projects by direct transference from the relief office to Civil Works projects on or before December 1, 1933.

"On or after December 1, or prior to this date, if the relief quota has been transferred and employed by the Civil Works Administration, all applications for employment will be made through the local employment agencies designated by the U.S. Employment Service and placements will be made in accordance with preference as set forth in Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

"Federal Emergency Relief funds may be used to pay wages to persons transferred from relief rolls to Civil Works projects. Wherever state and local laws permit, it is urged that state and local relief funds be similarly used. If this is not possible, it is suggested that the funds received from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration be allocated entirely to Civil Works projects and state and local relief funds be used for direct relief.

"It is not contemplated, unless persons now on work-relief or other employable persons on relief are transferred to Civil Works projects in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Civil Works Administration, that funds will be made available to provided work and wages on Civil Works projects.

"All public works projects of the character heretofore constructed or carried on either by the public authority or with public aid to serve the interest of the general public are eligible, provided that: (1) they are socially and economically desirable, and (2) they may be undertaken quickly. All Civil Works projects must be carried on by force account (day labor), and not by contract.

"No project for which application has been made to the Emergency Administration of Public Works and which has not been referred by it to the Civil Works Administration is acceptable as a Civil Works project.

"No project which a public body is able to finance under the terms of Title II, of the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Rules and Regulations thereunder, is acceptable as a Civil Works project.

"Funds at the disposal of the Federal Civil Works Administrator will be expended upon projects conforming to specifications as set forth above. All Civil Works projects shall be submitted to the local Civil Works Administration on forms to be furnished by the Federal Civil Works Administration. The local Civil Works Administrations shall submit such applications to the State Civil Works Administration, with recommendations for approval or disapproval. State Civil Works projects shall be submitted direct to the State Civil Works Administration. The State Civil Works Administration shall approve these projects with such limitations as the Federal Civil Works Administrator may from time to time prescribe or establish.

"Civil Works project applications shall contain such data as are required by the Federal Civil Works Administration, and shall be submitted in triplicate to the local Civil Works Administration. Two copies are to be sent by the local Civil Works Administration to the State Civil Works Administration. One copy shall be immediately forwarded by the State Civil Works Administration to the Federal Civil Works Administration.

"In carrying out Civil Works projects, the Civil Works Administration will use the operating departments of public bodies, except where the Civil Works Administration directly carries out Civil Works projects.

"Necessary funds will be allocated to State Civil Works Administrations by the Federal Civil Works Administration on a just and equitable basis.

"The hours of labor, wage rates, etc., on Civil Works projects shall be fixed in accordance with the rules and regulations established by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, as follows:

"1. 30-hour week. Except in Executive, Administrative, or Supervisory positions, so far as practicable and feasible, no individual indirectly employed on a Civil Works project shall be permitted to work more than 30 hours in any one week; provided that the clause shall be construed, (a) To permit working time lost because of inclement weather, or unavoidable delays in any one week to be made up in the succeeding 20 days; (b) To permit the limitation of not more than 130 hours work in any one calendar month, to be substituted for the requirement of not more than 30 hours work in any one week on projects in localities where a sufficient amount of labor is not available in the immediate vicinity of the work; and (c) To permit work up to 8 hours a day, or up to 40 hours a week on projects located at points so remote and inaccessible that camps or floating plants are necessary for the housing and boarding of all the labor employed.

"2. No person under 16 years of age shall be employed on Civil Works projects.

"3. The maximum of human labor shall be used in lieu of machinery wherever practicable and consistent with sound economic and public advantage.

"4. All employees employed in Civil Works projects shall be paid just and reasonable wages, which shall be compensation sufficient to provide, for the hours of labor as limited, a standard of living in decency and comfort. The Civil Works Administration shall pay not less than the minimum hourly wages for skilled and unskilled labor prescribed by the Federal Administrator of Public Works viz.:

"That for the purpose of determining wage rates on all construction financed from funds appropriated by the Administrator of Public Works under the authority of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the United States shall be divided into three zones as follows: 'Southern zone:--South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma,

"The hourly wage rates to be paid on construction projects in these zones shall be not less than the following:

"Southern zone:

Skilled labor $1.00

Unskilled labor .40

"Central zone:

Skilled labor $1.10

Unskilled labor .45

"Northern zone:

Skilled labor $1.20

Unskilled labor .50

"On road projects the wage rates shall be those which have bene fixed by the State Highway Departments, in accordance with Sec. 204c of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

"So far as articles, materials, and supplies produced in the United States are concerned, only articles, materials, and supplies produced under codes of fair competition under Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act or under the President's Reëmployment Agreement, shall be used in the performance of this work, except when the Federal Civil Works Administration certifies that this requirement is not in the public interest or that the consequent cost is unreasonable.

"So far as is practicable, and subject to the provisions of the above paragraph, preference shall also be given to the use of locally produced materials if such does not involve higher cost, inferior quality or insufficient quantity.

"The methods of disbursing Civil Works Administration funds, the accounting system to be established, and the financial reports which will be required on Civil Works projects will be outlined in a subsequent order."

CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

The first step under the Civil Works Administration in getting projects under way, after the necessary forms had been printed, was the transfer of approved work relief projects from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to the Civil Works Administration. The actual transfer of Work Relief projects to Form L-3 was done in the state office on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 17, 18 and 19.

All Local Administrators were given authority to immediately transfer all Work Relief projects to Civil Works projects.

Except in the cities and larger towns, all Work Relief projects had been stopped in July, 1933, thus only a small number of Work Relief projects were under way in the state at the time the Civil Works Administration was formed so, although several thousand men were immediately put to work on the projects transferred from Work Relief, only a small percentage of North Carolina's quota could be thus employed.

On Saturday, November 18, all Local Emergency Relief Administrators were called to Raleigh for a meeting. At this meeting the purpose of the Civil Works Administration was explained, and as much of the details of the organization as was known were outlined. The administrators were instructed to send in projects immediately for approval. This they did, some projects being received on Monday, November 20.

At the close of the Civil Works Administration program, the two largest problems confronting the Works Division of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration were carrying to completion

those projects begun under the Civil Works Administration, and providing projects on which employable persons on the relief rolls could be employed.

The first step to completion of Civil Works Administration projects was the transfer of these projects to the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. This transfer of projects was well under way by April 1, 1934, and transferred CWA projects were being pushed to completion. The completion of some of the Civil Works projects was made very difficult, first, because no emergency relief funds were at that time available for the purchase of materials, and second, because certain classes of skilled labor were not on relief rolls. The allotment of special funds for the completion of CWA projects, which began in September, 1934, did much to help overcome this difficulty, but the fact that such funds were not made available until five months after the Civil Works program closed delayed the completion of many CWA projects.

As of July 1, 1935, all CWA projects are completed or were over ninety per cent complete. The list of completed projects at the end of this report indicates those CWA projects which were completed as of June 1, 1935.

Despite the urgency of completing CWA projects so that there would be no loss of material or abandonment of worthwhile projects, the primary function of the Works Division was to provide projects that would employ relief cases at the type of work they were best qualified to do. This was by no means a simple job, but required the exercise of considerable ingenuity and close supervision. Among the obstacles to be overcome were the difficulty of getting adequate and competent supervision for the wages which the Emergency Relief Administration was able to pay, the necessity of getting materials from sources outside the Emergency Relief Administration and the difficulty of locating worthwhile projects so that they would be accessible to the relief clients. These obstacles were largely overcome by the coöperation of local governmental units such as the counties, municipalities, school boards, etc. Many municipalities and counties had come to the wise conclusion that every advantage should be taken of the opportunity to use labor provided by the Emergency Relief Administration, and those counties and municipalities that came to this conclusion and coöperated with the Administration were able to carry on and complete many worthwhile and beneficial projects of every description.

RELATION OF PROJECTS TO NEW PROGRAM

It was extremely difficult to carry on efficiently and in the best method most of the construction projects started as Civil Works Administration projects due to the lack of funds for skilled labor and material. Projects such as parks, airports, schools, and highways, unless they were too large, were carried on very well with hand labor.

A good deal of the drainage work, and most of the rural sanitation work was carried on efficiently. The extensions of water and sewer systems, where all of the materials had been purchased, were carried on efficiently with ERA funds.

The fact that much smaller funds were available for work projects under the ERA program made it difficult to carry on continuously projects that required skilled labor.

Beginning with Tuesday, November 21, projects were received in the State Civil Works Office at the rate of from two to five hundred per day. Approvals for projects went out at the rate of about two hundred and fifty per day for about three weeks, and then gradually decreased.

For the first few weeks of the program great stress was laid on the necessity of getting men to work immediately. Under these conditions it was impossible to build up immediately an organization

adequate for properly handling in full detail project applications; however, every project was checked for errors in figures, materials, lists, etc. As far as was possible from the meager plans and information that were gotten up hurriedly, the cost of the project as estimated locally, was checked with the cost as estimated by the State Civil Works Administration. Every project was carefully considered for its eligibility as a Civil Works project, and the ratio of labor and materials, as set by the State Civil Works Administration, was strictly enforced.

During the first weeks, a great number of the projects were poorly prepared, but at the time they were received and checked, neither adequate information nor sufficient time was available for an accurate estimate.

After sufficient force and space had been secured by the Engineering Department projects were much more carefully checked and reports from District Engineers aided materially in thoroughly scrutinizing projects.

The routine followed in approving projects was a follows:

Immediately upon reaching the state office, each project was registered and given a registration number and date. Projects were then sorted, by counties, stamped, and face-sheeted. They were then sent to the checking room where engineers and architects checked projects for accuracy in figures, for deficiency or excess of labor and materials, and for correctness of form. Projects were then checked by the State Work Project Supervisor, or the Chief Office Engineer, who sent them to the Administrator with their comments and recommendations for final approval. After final approval or disapproval, the local units were notified and the copies of the project were forwarded to their final destination.

The above procedure was followed with Form L-3A which reached this state in sufficient quantities for use about the first of February.

Upon receiving sufficient Forms L-3A, orders were sent to each local unit to transfer all approved projects to this form. Every one of the transferred projects was carefully checked against the original project as approved on Form L-3. Great difficulty was experienced in getting Form L-3A properly filled out, and a great deal of the time of this office was taken up for two months in checking transfers.

In summary it can be said that actual work on projects was very little delayed because of lack of approved projects, and that on the whole projects approved were consistently of a type involving permanent improvements and benefits to the public.

QUOTA

The original quota of 68,000 persons allotted to North Carolina on the basis of one-fourth population and three-fourths case load was distributed proportionately among the counties and city units on the same basis.

Since women were not qualified for construction work as required for the CWA program, an additional quota of 4,702 was allotted the State for women on CWS projects. This was distributed to local units according to the number of women eligible for relief.

A further additional quota was allotted in two installments to be used for State and special projects. A Federal quota of approximately 11,000 was reserved in Washington--this was allocated directly from Washington to Federal projects within the state. An unused Federal quota of 1,500 was given to the State a few days before curtailment of the program on January 18.

Due to the failure of some of the counties to get the full quota on, and the fact that the second

installment of the additional 5,000 and 1,500 was received just prior to instruction from Washington on January 18 that no new workers could be added to the payroll, North Carolina did not reach the maximum quota. The maximum number reached was 78,360.

The first half of the original 68,000 was placed from November 15 to December 1, by the administrators from persons on relief rolls prior to November 15. All the quota after December 1 was placed through the Reëmployment Service.

TRANSFERS FROM RELIEF ROLLS AND EMPLOYMENT PLACEMENTS

During the period from November 15 to December 1, 1933, a total of 19,941 were transferred from the relief rolls to CWA jobs. Of this number 19,379 were classified as heads of families, the remaining 562 being classified as individuals who had been drawing direct relief.

Still further transfers were made after December 1 until the CWA quota from relief rolls, which was one-half the total CWA quota for North Carolina, was taken off direct relief and assigned jobs.

During the period from December 1, 1933, to June 1, 1934, the National Reëmployment Service placed 106,827 people on jobs. The reëmployment service reported that the majority of these were placed on CWA and PWA jobs.

The same service reports that few placements were made through union locals because of the fact that there are only a few such organizations in North Carolina outside of the specialized manufacturing trades. About thirty men were employed through contracting trade unions at Fayetteville and about the same number at Wilmington. There is no agency from which to secure accurate figures concerning these placements but it is well known, as stated, that such unions are so few as to be negligible.

* Number placed at work from registration list furnished by Reëmployment Service.

LABOR RELATIONS

Wage Scales

The PWA wage scale of 45c per hour, the minimum for unskilled labor, and $1.10 for skilled labor was paid on all CWA projects. In North Carolina an intermediate scale for semi-skilled was paid. These semi-skilled rates were based on intermediate rates proposed but not adopted by PWA.

As the CWA rate was much higher than rates paid in the cities and rural communities by private industry, there was little opportunity to absorb workers into private work. There was a tendency of workers to give up jobs and register with the Reëmployment Service. Numerous complaints were received concerning the difficulty of securing workers, because of the number of persons holding CWA jobs, or who had left private employment to accept CWA jobs.

CLERICAL WAGE SCALE

The Clerical Wage Scale was as follows:

1. The Base Rate, that paid for work of a routine nature requiring little prior training and experience, was $12.00 per week.

2. The Intermediate Rate, that paid for work which required specific training, was $15.00 per week.

3. The Operating-Supervisory Rate, that paid persons directing the work of others, was $18.00 per week.

4. The Technical-Supervisory Rate, that paid persons having professional or technical training, was $35.00 per week.

The State CWA and the State Reëmployment office appointed local Clearance Committees, composed of the local CWA administrator, the chairman of the Advisory Committee, the local reëmployment manager and the chairman of Reëmployment Committee. The duty of the Clearance Committee was to handle complaints and to determine if the adjustment was the responsibility of the CWA or of the Reëmployment Service. The report was made to the proper state agency for adjustment.

The North Carolina Department of Labor loaned the Senior Labor Inspector, Mr. Jack Lang, to the CWA to make adjustments.

After December 1, placements were made through Reëmployment--the statutory preferences as to ex-service men with families and residence in locality were followed. The trade unions were called upon to furnish men sometimes but as the unemployed union workers were registered with the Reëmployment Service, practically all requisitions were cleared through the Reëmployment office.

WORKING HOURS

The 30-hour week and 6-hour day, except in rural areas where the maximum 8-hour day was used, for manual labor and the 39-hour week and 8-hour day for clerical, professional supervisors, etc., as established by the Federal CWA, was strictly followed in North Carolina.

Beginning January 18 the working hours were reduced to 24 per week in cities and towns over 2,500; to 15 hours in towns less than 2,500 and in open country.

PURCHASING DEPARTMENT

The department through which material, supplies, equipment and tools were purchased or rented for the various projects authorized by the Civil Works Administration, was organized immediately upon receipt of the necessary authority and instruction. All efforts were made to organize the department that it might function in a manner consistent with the needs as rapidly as such needs were established.

This report covers the general procedure followed in making purchases and such data are given as will allow a somewhat broad interpretation of the department's activities. (While the purchasing department became encumbered at times with duties outside of its immediate jurisdiction and in the interests of the general organization, no reference is made to them in this report.)

All decisions and policies were governed by such instructions as were made available by the "Manual of Financial Procedure, Accounting, and Reporting for the State and Local Civil Works Administrations," and subsequent advice of miscellaneous nature as was received from time to time from higher authority.

The Purchasing Department gave and received full coöperation in regard to inter-departmental activities, and it was due to this that the detail resulting from the emergency was considerably lessened.

The authority vested in the Purchasing Department allowed the purchases and rentals of all materials, supplies and equipment.

The central purchasing department office was located in Raleigh. Several of the local administration offices retained purchasing officers, but in general, the local routine of securing bids, etc., was carried on by officers retained for other duties.

When the amount of purchase exceeded $1,000.00, invitations to bid were issued and awards made directly from the Raleigh office. When the amounts involved were less than $1,000.00, invitations to bid were issued directly to the vendors by the local administration office and the awards were then made by the Raleigh office.

When the Local Administrator secured bids under the above procedure, the purchases were usually made from local vendors. If the material to be purchased was not available locally or there was not a sufficient number of bidders available, requisition was forwarded to Raleigh and purchases made from the latter office.

A list of prospective bidders was maintained in the Raleigh office. The names of all vendors who made known their desire to bid upon material to be purchased by the Civil Works Administration were placed upon this list, and invitations were mailed to them at such time as purchases were to be made.

The Purchase Requisition from the Local Administration office formed the basis for purchase or rental. The requirements, as stated by the Purchase Requisition, were accepted in so far as the type and quantity were concerned. The specifications governing quality were added to the bid form by the Raleigh office.

Invitations to bid (Form 33) were issued immediately upon receipt of the Purchase Requisition from the local administration office. Bids were received in sealed envelopes and dated to be opened at Raleigh one week after the invitations had been issued. Bids were opened and read publicly at 4:00 p.m. each afternoon except Saturday, Sunday, and holidays, and awards made immediately upon proper determination of the low bidder.

In all cases, except actual emergency, no bids were opened unless at least three sealed bids were submitted.

Performance bond, to the amount of fifty per cent of the bid, was required to be filed with all bids over $1,000.00. This requirement was established on account of early experience indicating irresponsibility of certain bidders which resulted in loss of time in securing materials. As there was also a delay in securing the performance bond after the award was made, considerable valuable time was saved by requiring the performance bond to be furnished by all bidders and filed with their bid, rather than the usual bid bond.

Attempt was made to use the Emergency Purchase Statement (Form L-22) as little as possible. The emergency feature was regarded as applying to the entire CWA program rather than to any particular project at any particular time, and the routine of purchasing any given material was scheduled to be accomplished in the shortest possible time consistent with organized procedure.

In cases where it would be necessary to discontinue work on a particular project and leave the labor idle until material was received, suitable additional emergency means were adopted to care for such situations as they developed.

All purchasing was stopped on March 30, 1934. Upon this last day it was necessary to make a small amount of special emergency purchases to provide material for such projects as were to be completed, and information regarding them was not available until this time.

The amount of purchase recorded amounted to $2,490,124.17.

Nine full time purchasing agents were employed by local administration offices. In general, local details incidental to purchasing were carried on by the general administration office personnel.

ANALYSIS OF PURCHASE AND CONTRIBUTION* OF MATERIALS, SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT November 17, 1933 to March 31, 1934

(1) Cemetery wall built in Johnston County. (2) Stream gaging station built in Davie County. (3) Stone office building at public cemetery in Salisbury, Rowan County. (4) Wall around cemetery in Mecklenburg County. (5) Wall built at Old Soldiers' Cemetery at Statesville, Iredell County. (6) Wall built at cemetery in Jackson County.

(1) Concrete culvert built in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County. (2) Bridge built in Lincoln County in coöperation with State Highway Commission. (3) Underpass under highway at the Jackson Training School, Cabarrus County. (4) Queen River Bridge, Onslow County.

Final inventory was left entirely to the local administrators who were required to keep the records and store all unused materials. Such tools and equipment as were transferred from a completed or discontinued CWA project to an active ERA project were transferred within the unit so that the original administrator was responsible at all times. The administrators were instructed to stencil or stamp the proper marking on all equipment purchased.

The total operating cost of the Purchasing Department for salaries and traveling expenses, including the local and state offices, is approximately one third of one per cent of the amount purchased.

PROJECTS--TYPES AND PROCEDURE

Projects varied in type from simple earth-moving operations, such as minor grading on school grounds to development of large recreational facilities involving the construction of bathhouses, boathouses, swimming pools, amphitheaters, tennis courts, lakes, and play areas.

In the field of building construction, projects ranged from minor repairs to the construction of school buildings. The following types of projects were developed:

I. STREETS, ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.

A. Streets:

1. Grading, Filling, Leveling, Widening, Straightening, Shouldering:

Under this classification the work varied from grading work, such as simple repairs involving filling in and surface grading and drainage, to cutting through new streets which were opened for relieving traffic congestion. Projects of this sort were carried on in every town and city in the state, and in most of the villages. They varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $100,000.00.

Street widening projects ranged from widening dirt streets to street projects that involved the tearing down, cutting back, and rebuilding of store fronts. Most of the projects of this sort were located in the larger towns and cities, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $50,000.00.

All of the above types were sponsored by the various city officials of the localities in which the projects were located.

2. Paving and Resurfacing of Streets:

Projects of this type involved mostly surface treatment of existing paved streets. These projects were located in a few of the larger cities, and varied in cost from $5,000 to $100,000. These paving and resurfacing projects were sponsored by the municipal officials in the cities in which the projects were carried on and were prosecuted under the supervision of city engineering departments.

3. Retaining Walls, Curbs, Gutters, and Culverts:

Several curb and gutter projects were carried on in the cities. In some cases old stone gutters and curbs were torn out and replaced with concrete curbs and gutters. In other cases entirely new curbs and gutters were built. A few stone retaining walls were built, especially in the mountainous sections. These projects were sponsored by city and county officials.

4. Landscaping, Streets:

A. Planting, Tree and Shrubbery Pruning, and Tree Surgery:

About a dozen worthwhile projects for the repairing and pruning of trees were carried on. These projects were done by trained tree surgeons under expert supervision, and in most cases were badly needed.

There were about fifty projects involving street tree planting, none of which were extensive. All projects of this type were sponsored by municipal officials.

5. Production of Materials for Streets:

A. Sand, Gravel and Rock:

In some cases rock was quarried by CWA labor for use on street surfacing projects. Sand and gravel were also gotten for these projects.

B. Sidewalks and Pathways:

1. Grading and Filling:

A number of sand-clay sidewalks were graded and repaired. Work of this type was done mostly in small towns.

2. Building, Repairing and Re-laying:

Several very worthwhile sidewalk projects were built. These projects involved grading and other necessary preparation and the laying of concrete sidewalks. Projects of this type varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000.00.

The larger projects covered the building of several miles of sidewalks. All projects under this classification were sponsored by the municipal officials of the various towns and cities. Many gravel sidewalks were built in rural areas, especially in thickly populated sections along highways carrying heavy traffic. In projects of this type particular attention was given to locating the sidewalks where they would serve school children and keep them from walking on the highways.

These rural sidewalks varied in size from a few blocks to about five miles, and in cost from $500.00 to $40,000.00.

C. Roads and Highways:

1. Grading, Widening, Leveling, Straightening and Shouldering:

Under this classification, work done included surfacing, grading, filling in and leveling of sand-clay, secondary and market roads. Many roads impassable in wet weather were put into good condition by this type of work. A number of narrow roads in the remote rural sections were widened and straightened, making more accessible the areas they served.

Projects of this type varied in size from less than a mile to as much as twenty miles, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000.00.

2. Paving and Resurfacing of Highways:

No concrete surfacing was carried on as a CWA project since this was considered in the field of Public Works and a type of work more properly done by the Highway Commission. Most of the resurfacing was in the nature of topsoiling and sand graveling, although about one hundred projects involved the surfacing of roads with stone. Only a few roads were surfaced with the penetration type of treatment.

Paving and surfacing projects covered about the same range in cost and size as grading, filling, leveling, etc., projects.

3. Improving Intersections and Eliminating Dangerous Curves:

Dangerous intersections at cross roads and railroad crossings were improved by cutting back high banks. Dangerous curves were eliminated mostly in the process of widening and straightening roads.

4. Bridges, Underpasses, Culverts, etc.:

Not more than fifteen or twenty bridges were built, most of which were small and built on the mountain roads where it had been necessary previously to ford small streams; however, work on one large bridge was begun on the seacoast. During a storm an inlet had been

cut in the sand banks, cutting off the people in that section from the main land. This bridge will make this area accessible. A number of concrete culverts were constructed in places where drainage difficulties had occurred.

An underpass was built for the Jackson Training School, a boys' training school.

D. Landscaping:

1. Roadside Improvement and Planting:

Several roadside improvement projects were undertaken. Work on these projects involved cutting back all steep banks, leveling out of fills, straightening shoulders, providing permanent drainage ditches, and the planting of native trees and shrubbery.

In certain sections of the state, much interest was manifested in projects of this type. Roadside improvement projects, if properly planned and supervised, afford one of the most worthwhile and constructive fields of relief work.

E. Materials for Roadways:

1. Sand, Gravel and Stone:

Projects of this type were generally carried on as part of the projects listed above. Field stone was gathered from adjacent fields; topsoil and gravel were dug from areas purchased for this purpose by the State Highway Commission.

All projects on the highways and roads were sponsored and supervised by the State Highway Commission.

II. SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES.

A. New Construction:

Construction projects for schools and universities were mostly additions of one or more rooms to the existing school buildings. One ten-room Negro school and several three- and four-room schools were built. Projects of this type varied in cost from under $1,000 to $20,000, and over three hundred new school rooms were added. The most important item in new buildings was school gymnasiums. Over one hundred were approved, and work was started on eighty-eight. Gymnasiums varied in cost from $2,000 to $20,000. All projects pertaining to the public schools were sponsored by the local Boards of Education.

2. Repairing, Painting, and Renovating:

Repair jobs involved mainly repairs, painting, repairs to roofs, re-roofing, repairs to interiors, plastering, lighting, repairs to furniture and equipment, including repairs to school busses. New floors were laid, partitions added or taken out, and in some cases general renovation was carried on. Work of this type was done on public schools and on State Universities and colleges, both white and Negro, and varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $100,000. All public school work was sponsored by the directors of these institutions, and by the State Budget Bureau.

B. Grounds and Athletic Areas:

1. Building and Improving Athletic Fields and Grandstands; Building and Resurfacing Tennis Courts:

Projects of this sort involved the repair of existing athletic fields and tennis courts, and the construction of new tennis courts and athletic fields. These projects varied in cost from a few hundred dollars to $50,000.00.

2. Grading and Beautifying School Grounds; Construction of Playgrounds, Lanes, Walks and Paths:

Projects under this classification involved mainly minor grading and planting, the construction

of new walks and paths, and varied in cost from under $1,000.00 to $50,000.00. The sponsorship of these projects was the same as that for other school and college work.

III. PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.

A. Improvement of Grounds:

Improvement of parks and playgrounds covered all types of work, from simple clearing and brush removal, to surface grading and extensive landscaping, and the construction of walks, bridle paths, gutters and proper drainage facilities.

B. Construction of New Recreational Facilities:

Construction of new recreational facilities included the construction of large parks and playgrounds, and small parks, small playgrounds, small city parks, golf courses, summer camps, bathing beaches, skating rinks and gymnasiums for indoor athletics. Several large parks were constructed. In these large projects were included swimming pools, bath houses, boat houses, tennis courts, play areas, barbecue pits, amphitheaters, lakes and extensive landscaping and planting. Work was started on twenty swimming pools, most of which were part of larger park developments. One large municipal stadium was built.

Projects of the above type varied from about $2,000.00 to $100,000.00 and were sponsored by county and city officials.

IV. RURAL COMMUNITY CENTERS AND FAIR GROUNDS.

Rural community centers and fair grounds are separately classified because both affect mainly the rural population and provide recreation for them. Much interest was shown in rural community centers, but projects for these centers were planned and submitted too late for much work to be done on them under the CWA program; however, it was urged that all structures at these centers be built from native materials, such as logs or native stone, and that the people interested furnish the necessary manufactured material so that it may be possible to do work on rural community centers under the ERA program.

Work on about twenty fair grounds was carried on and varied in type from minor repairs to making streets, sidewalks and landscape improvements.

These projects were sponsored by county and state officials.

V. PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

A. Construction and Additions:

Several projects involving construction of additions to city halls, fire stations, courthouses, city garages, county homes, libraries, orphanages, etc., were carried on. One art museum was built. The art museum was a reconstruction project, being reconstructed from the materials of a historic building that had been demolished.

Projects of this type varied from $5,000.00 to $75,000.00 in size, ranging from one-room additions to the construction of the above mentioned museum.

B. Repairs to Public Buildings:

Repairs to public buildings involved types of repair work including plastering, plumbing, painting, erection of and demolition of partitions, and varied in cost from $1,000.00 to $5,000.00.

These projects were sponsored by county and municipal authorities.

VI. AIRPORTS.

Work was done on twelve airports in the state. Some of these airports involved grading and leveling sufficient for an emergency landing. Work on three of the airports involved drainage and hardsurfacing of runways, and these airports, since completion, are of the highest type.

These airports varied in size from fifteen to over two hundred acres, and in cost from $1,000.00 to $250,000.00.

All airport projects were sponsored by the officials of the cities when they were built and were approved by the State Aeronautical Advisers.

VII. CEMETERY IMPROVEMENTS AND REPAIRS.

Improvements and repairs were made to about forty cemeteries, involving grading, building walks and driveways, landscaping and planting. They varied in cost from less than $1,000.00 to over $50,000.00.

VIII. IMPROVEMENTS TO STATE AND PUBLIC LANDS.

A. Improvements to State Game Farms, Game Reserves and Fish Hatcheries:

Work involving the repairing, painting, grading and other such minor rehabilitation repairs was done on all State-owned game reserves, fish hatcheries and most of the state test farms. New breeding pens, spawning pools, bird pens, bird runs, etc., were also built.

Projects of this type cost from under $1,000.00 to over $20,000.00 and were sponsored by the State Department of Conservation and Development.

B. Oyster Planting:

In eight counties oyster planting projects were carried on. From the standpoint of the improvement of the economic life of the people, oyster planting was one of our most important projects. Oyster planting was sponsored by the State Department of Conservation and Development.

OYSTER PLANTING

Carteret County

Payroll

$ 31,208.85

Bushels planted

388,889.00

Cost per bushel

.08

Dare County

Payroll

$ 9,702.24

Bushels planted

92,810.00

Cost per bushel

.104

Onslow County

Payroll

$ 2,947.20

Bushels planted

31,934

Cost per bushel

.104

Hyde County

Payroll

$ 4,389.20

Bushels planted

39,058

Cost per bushel

.112

Brunswick County

Payroll

$ 2,540.25

Bushels planted

37,720

Cost per bushel

.07

Pender County

Payroll

$ 2,377.50

Bushels planted

26,319

Cost per bushel

.09

New Hanover County

Payroll

$ 1,146.40

Bushels planted

16,128

Cost per bushel

.071

Pamlico County

Payroll

$ 2,056.45

Bushels planted

78,567

Cost per bushel

.026

SUMMARY

Total Payroll

$ 58,368.09

Total bushels planted

711,425

Average cost per bushel

.079

C. A few projects for forest improvement, such as building look-out towers and cutting fire lanes were carried on.

(1) School addition built for primary grades at mill village near Concord, Cabarrus County. (2) Addition to Massey Hill school, Cumberland County. (3) Addition of wings to Pitt County school. (4) Auditorium built at Mecklenburg County school.

IX. PEST CONTROL.

A. Pestiferous Malaria Mosquitoes:

Projects for mosquito control were mainly those for the eradication of malaria mosquitoes. Most of the work done for this purpose was drainage and stream clearing. The largest portion of the work was done in the eastern section of the state.

Drainage consisted of straightening, widening, and deepening existing streams, cutting of new drainage ditches and the cutting of lateral drainage ditches. Some of this work was done with draglines and dredges, but all lateral and smaller streams were improved by hand labor.

The control of pestiferous mosquitoes was confined largely to the salt marshes, and was accomplished by hand ditching and straightening of streams.

The cost of malaria control projects varied from under $1,000.00 to over $75,000.00. The length of ditches and streams cut and improved varied from a few hundred feet to forty-two miles.

All malaria control projects were sponsored by city and county officials, and the North Carolina State Board of Health, acting as agent for the United States Public Health Service. The engineering supervision of these projects was vested in the State Board of Health.

B. Control of Other Pests:

The only other pest control projects of any importance were the destruction of yellow flies.

X. SANITATION.

A. Construction:

Projects for the improvement of sanitary conditions included the building of sanitary sewers and the extension of sanitary sewers and the construction of small disposal plants.

Projects of this type varied in cost from $2,000.00 to over $50,000.00, and included projects for from a few blocks to several miles of sewers.

Projects of this type were sponsored by the city and county officials and approved, as required under the state law, by the State Board of Health.

Many important and necessary improvements were made in rural sections by the construction of sanitary privies, both for private homes and at rural schools.

Septic tanks were built at schools and in congested areas, under the sanitary privy projects.

Projects of this type were carried on in every county in the state and ranged in cost from a few hundred dollars, for the construction of school privies, to almost $100,000.00 for the construction of thousands of individual privies in the larger counties.

Sanitary privy projects were sponsored by city and county officials, and by the State Board of Health.

B. Other Projects for the Improvement of Public Health:

Other projects for the improvement of public health included projects for cleaning creeks and streams, filling in marshy places, filling in dumping grounds, etc., and were sponsored by the officials of the communities affected.

XI. WATER WORKS AND WATER SUPPLY.

A. Water Sheds, Reservoirs and Grounds:

Work under this heading consisted of clearing and cleaning water sheds by thinning woods and removing brush and debris, clearing, grading and cleaning around reservoirs, and grading and landscaping around water works plants. Projects under this classification varied in cost from less than $1,000.00 to over $10,000.00 and were sponsored by city officials.

B. Water Works and Distributing Systems:

The main work done under this classification was the laying and repairing of water mains. Extensions were made to existing water works systems, and new systems were built in towns which previously had no systems. Existing water mains were repaired in many cases.

Projects of this sort varied from under $1,000.00 for repairs, to over $100,000.00 for new systems, and in size varied from the extension of a few blocks to an auxiliary line over fifteen miles in length.

School water supply systems were also constructed and repaired. In a few of the smaller towns, wells and aeration plants were built.

All this work was sponsored by city and county officials.

XII. UTILITIES.

The only work of this type done was the building of two rural power lines and repair work on a few municipally owned electric line and power systems. Very few utilities are publicly owned in this state.

XIII. ADMINISTRATIVE, PROFESSIONAL AND CLERICAL.

Under this classification was personnel of the State and Local Civil Works Administration Offices, and such miscellaneous work as indexing county records, filing and bringing up to date of records in county courthouses, the making of traffic surveys, traffic maps, clerical, stenographic and filing projects in various public offices.

2. ARCHEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS: Sponsored and directed by the Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology. Project consisted of excavation of Indian mound on Hiwassee River, Cherokee County. Original set-up: 104 men; $806.25 for other than labor expenses.

(1) Dam, constructed under CWA and ERA, twelve miles above city for Asheville water supply, Buncombe County. (2) Twelve miles of sixteen-inch pipe laid under CWA and ERA for City of Asheville water supply, Buncombe County. (3) Chlorinator house constructed under CWA and ERA for City of Asheville water supply.

Coast and Geodetic Survey. Consisted of triangulation, traverse, and leveling. Operated in 24 counties, the original authorization calling for 575 men.

8. EMPLOYMENT RECORD STUDIES: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Labor, Bureau of United States Employment Service. Comprised compilation and analysis of employment statistics to serve reëmployment and recovery program. Original set-up: 30 persons.

10. FARM MORTGAGE AND LAND VALUES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Comprised tax delinquency and land transfers (including mortgage foreclosures). Operated in 80 counties, approximately state-wide. Original set-up: 386 men; $1,445.00 for other than labor expenses.

11. CONSTRUCTION, REPAIRING, AND INSTALLING GAGING STATION EQUIPMENT AT 22 STATIONS ON STREAMS IN NORTH CAROLINA: Sponsored and directed by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Geological Survey. Operated in 21 counties. Original set-up: 141 men; $7,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

12. HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY: Sponsored and directed by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations. Consisted of a survey of old courthouses, churches, bridges, dwellings, schools, etc., having historic value and interest, local and national. Operated in 7 counties: Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Buncombe, New Hanover, Craven, Wake, Chowan. Original set-up: 28 men; $175.00 for other than labor expenses.

13. INDIAN RESERVATIONS CONSTRUCTION: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Construction and repairing on Indian reservation in Cherokee County. Original set-up: 18 men; $800.00 for other than labor expenses.

14. IMPROVING LIGHTHOUSE PROPERTY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce--Bureau of Lighthouses. Operated at Hobucken Lighthouse Reservation, Pamlico County, clearing off reservation, building about 700 feet of road, etc. Original set-up: 12 laborers; $3,240.00 for labor. No materials required, tools furnished by Lighthouse Service.

15. MALARIA CONTROL: Sponsored and directed by Bureau of Public Health Service, Department of Treasury. Drainage for malaria control and mosquito eradication, operated in 54 counties. Original set-up called for 440 men.

16. CENSUS RECORD PRESERVATION, TABULATING, CHECKING AND MAP DRAFTING: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Original set-up: 7 men; $2,200.00 for expenses other than labor.

17. NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Bureau National Parks, Buildings and Monuments. Work on Great Smoky Mountains National Park, operated in Haywood and Macon counties. Original set-up: 109 men; $6,660.00 for other than labor expenses.

18. WORK ON NATIONAL FOREST AND FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION UNITS WITHIN STATE: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau Forest Service. Operated in 2 counties, at Bent Creek Experimental Forest and Appalachian Forest Experimental Station in Buncombe, and at Coweeta Experimental Station in Macon. Original set-up: 182 men; $6,916.00 for other than labor expenses.

19. POSTS, CAMPS, STATIONS OF THE ARMY AND AT NATIONAL CEMETERIES: Sponsored and

directed by Department of War, Bureau of Quartermaster Corps. Work at Fort Macon in Carteret County; likewise at:

Men

Funds required in original set-up

Camp Glenn

7,600

Fort Bragg

1,360

$ 692,754.00

Raleigh Cemetery

18

3,600.00

New Bern Cemetery

17

3,800.00

Salisbury Cemetery

43

11,500.00

Wilmington Cemetery

30

3,400.00

20. PRICES FARMERS PAY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Operated in about 98 counties, approximately state-wide. Original set-up: 103 men; $868.00 for other than labor expenses.

21. WORK ON EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. Operated at Willard Test Farm in Pender County, where the work consisted of making culture media and culturing pine canker fungus, a growth particularly disastrous to the turpentine industry, and at Asheville, where the project involved the preparation of a field for coöperative pasture experiment, painting government-owned laboratories, etc. Original set-up: 82 men; $250.00 for other than labor expenses.

22. PEST MOSQUITO CONTROL: Sponsored and directed by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, consisting of salt marsh drainage. This operated in Brunswick, New Hanover, Pasquotank, Craven and Carteret counties, the original set-up calling for 1,024 men and $10,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

23. REEMPLOYMENT OFFICES: Sponsored and directed by Bureau of National Reëmployment Service. This project consisted of the maintenance of reëmployment offices in every county in the state. It is still in operation, being paid from a special fund. Original set-up: 350 workers and $86,400.00 for other than labor expenses.

24. REAL PROPERTY INVENTORY: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau Foreign and Domestic Census. This consisted of ascertaining the amount of construction and repair needed on dwellings, etc. Operated in Buncombe, Guilford and Mecklenburg counties. Original set-up: 90 men; $1,675.00 for other than labor expenses.

25. SURVEY OF EMPLOYMENT HISTORIES OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES: Sponsored and directed by Department Federal Coördinator of Transportation. Operated at Wilmington, consisting of the survey of employees of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Original set-up: 110 people; $1,000.00 for other than labor expenses.

26. NATIONAL RELIEF CENSUS AND SUPPORTING LOCAL STUDIES: Sponsored and directed by Department of Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Bureau of Research and Statistics. This project is still operating with headquarters in Mecklenburg County. Original set-up: 85 men and $850.00 for other than labor expenses.

27. COMMUNITY SANITATION ON A NATION-WIDE SCALE: Sponsored and directed by Department of Treasury, Bureau of Public Health Service. Original authorization in this state called for 1,358 men.

(1) Atkinson Gymnasium built in Pender County. (2) Gymnasium built in Northampton County. (3) Gymnasium built at Goldsboro in Wayne County. (4) Gymnasium built at Woodland, Northampton County. (5) Gymnasium built at Richlannds in Onslow County. (6) Gymnasium built at New London in Stanly County.

29. DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Interior, Subsistence Homesteads Division. This project operated through Penderlea Homesteads, Inc., in Pender County, also in Duplin, Sampson and New Hanover (Headquarters in Wilmington). First authorization called for 78 persons and $1,545.00 for other than labor expenses.

30. ANALYSIS OF TAX DELINQUENCY AND OVERLAPPING GOVERNMENTS: Sponsored and directed by Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Original set-up: 16 men; $100.00 for other than labor expenses.

31. BUILDING, REPAIRING, RENOVATING AND OTHERWISE PREPARING BUILDINGS TO BE OCCUPIED BY TRANSIENTS UNDER FEDERAL CARE: Sponsored and directed by FERA Department, Transient Department. Original set-up: 100 men; $3,870.00 for other than labor expenses.

(1) Addition to Hiddenite School in Alexander County. (2) Green Valley School built in Watauga County. (3) Landis Colored School built in Rowan County, reconstructed after fire. (4) Nathans Creek High School, Ashe County, completed under CWA and ERA. (5) Taylorsville Colored School built in Alexander County. (6) Addition to New River High School in Ashe County constructed.

NECESSARY PUBLIC WORKS

The work accomplished on Civil Works projects filled to a very remarkable degree the needs of the state and communities. The state government, and almost all municipal and county governments were operating on greatly curtailed budgets. In many instances municipal and county governments were in default. These conditions prohibited extensive new construction.

Lack of funds restricted the state, city and county governments to the ordinary functions of repair and maintenance. State institutions, such as colleges, hospitals and orphanages, were operating on very small budgets. Work of maintaining school plants became a state function and, owing to the limited state budget, many much needed repairs could not be carried on.

County homes and other institutions of a similar nature were forced to forego making improvements to their properties. Since so many of the governmental units were in default, it was impossible for them to receive PWA grants no matter how badly the improvements contemplated were needed.

Many cities and towns sadly lacked outdoor recreational facilities both for white people and for Negroes. Every swimming pool, park and playground that was built will provide recreational facilities for people who otherwise would have had no, or at least limited, opportunity for outdoor recreation.

Many municipalities badly needed extensions and additions to their water and sewerage systems, road improvements and other work that they were unable to pay for.

The school gymnasiums that were constructed, being mostly in the rural areas, provided year-round facilities in games or sports where such facilities did not previously exist.

The athletic fields and other recreational facilities built at the universities and state colleges provided a means of outdoor sports for the student bodies as a whole. Prior to the construction of these projects by the Civil Works Administration, most of the recreational facilities provided by the colleges and universities were for the use of school teams, a state of affairs which provided very little outdoor recreation for the general student body.

In the field of drainage for malaria control the various drainage districts and counties were badly in need of improvements to existing drainage systems and the construction of new drainage systems.

On the whole, the results of the Civil Works program were constructive and permanent improvements.

ROAD PROJECTS PREDOMINANT

At the beginning of the Civil Works Administration, projects involving various sorts of work on roads and highways were predominant. This was due to the fact that the well-organized State Highway Commission, with district and division engineers over the entire state, was in a position to carry on immediately constructive projects of this type. In view of the fact that it was necessary to put men to work at once, a large number of road projects was approved since it was possible, under the supervision of the engineers of the Highway Commission, to do constructive and necessary work on the highway system.

By way of explanation it should be stated that all public roads in the State of North Carolina are part of the State Highway System. There are no roads built or maintained by the counties or any subdivision other than the state.

Road work also presented an excellent opportunity for putting men in the rural sections to work since they were mostly unskilled laborers. In a good many instances no other type of project was feasible in the remote rural areas.

As the program developed and other projects were initiated, the road forces were rapidly curtailed so that, although a greater number of projects for road repair and improvement was approved than any other type, the actual work done on road and highway projects was not over eighteen per cent of the total of CWA work accomplished.

The next largest and most predominant type of projects was projects for the control of malaria by drainage. Under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration preliminary steps had been taken towards the organization of the necessary field supervision of drainage projects. This, and the fact that drainage projects provided an immediate opportunity to put large numbers of common laborers to work immediately, influenced the approving of a great many drainage projects. About ten per cent of Civil Works Administration funds was spent for malaria control, which is a major health problem in this state.

The next largest field of activity was repairs, renovations, painting, etc., of schools. Lack of funds in almost every locality had resulted in curtailment of this type of work by the governmental units. Even more work of this type would have been done except for the fact that much material was needed to carry on these projects.

Next in predominance was the construction of sanitary privies. Since all materials were furnished by private individuals and much common labor could be used, these projects were started. The benefits to public health, and the fact that preliminary arrangements for organization had been made, were influential factors in the wide-spread activity in this field.

Other types of projects varied in size and importance in different localities. This variation was due mainly to the needs and desires of the communities.

SAFETY PROGRAM

The Safety Department of the North Carolina Civil Works Administration was organized on January 1, 1934, with offices at 314 Reynolds Building, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The personnel of the state office consisted of one stenographer, three field representatives, and the State Director.

In addition to the three Field Representatives mentioned above, each of the 107 units had its own Safety Director, working indirectly under the State Safety Director and directly under the local administrator. In the majority of cases, these Safety Directors had additional duties either as Work Project Supervisor or Injury Clerk. It is estimated that only 10 men devoted their entire time as County or City Safety Director.

Each Project had a Job Safety Inspector, who inspected his project each day, generally in the mornings before the crew started to work. He gave close attention to such matters as condition of hand tools, wheelbarrows, ladders, etc., and particular attention to the physical hazards of the project. From reports received in the State Safety Director's office, it would seem that only 215 job safety inspectors devoted their full time to this important work, the others doing this in addition to their other duties.

In setting up the Safety Department, the State Safety Director estimated that the program to be carried on from this office would cost $10,441.00, based on a period of twelve weeks. However, the total cost of the state office for the thirteen-week period has been only $8,709.77, or a reduction of $1,731.23 from the original estimate, which at that time was considered very conservative. The following expenditures were made:

(1) Tennis courts built at Blair Park in High Point, Guilford County. (2) Track built at high school in Durham, Durham County. (3) Playing field built at high school in Durham, Durham County. (4) Baseball field and grandstand at Bailey, Nash County.

While all of the above was charged against Civil Works, quite a large amount will be used under Emergency Relief. For instance, the Safety Equipment, which includes first aid equipment and goggles, will be used in the Works Division of Emergency Relief without additional cost, with the exception of refills for the First Aid Kits from time to time.

It was seen in the beginning of safety work that a program of first aid training would be of real value. That this program was successful can be seen from the fact that only 24 cases of infection were reported under Civil Works. It was agreed that each job, as far as possible, should have a trained first aid man with proper equipment. With this in view, the assistance of the First Aid and Life Saving Service of the American National Red Cross was requested. A conference was called in the State Safety Director's office attended by Mrs. Thomas Sprinkle, of High Point, North Carolina, and Mr. Berres, of Washington, D. C., North Carolina Field Representatives of the American National Red Cross. With their coöperation, it was possible to conduct sixty-three complete fifteen-hour Standard First Aid Courses, with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 CWA employees. This was in addition to the several smaller classes held in some of the smaller cities or counties. The training of these men meant much to the safety program of the Civil Works Administration, but will mean even more to the state at large. These twenty-five hundred trained "First Aiders," spread from the mountains to the coast, are prepared to render valuable assistance in future accidents on our highways, in our homes, and in our industrial plants. A number of these men will, of course, be employed by industry in the near future where they will find that the training received under the Civil Works Administration will be of real help to them in their individual plant safety and first aid programs.

The State Safety Department issued approximately fifty bulletins dealing with problems of a general nature, as well as covering in detail the following specific subjects:

General Rules for Safety

Excavations

Handling Explosives

Scaffolds

Physical Condition

Exposure

Railroad Crossings

Hand Tools

Carbon Monoxide

Transportation of Workers

Demolition

First Aid

Goggles

Cave-ins

Health Program

Poison Ivy

These bulletins were sent out to each unit, and in a majority of cases were reproduced by the unit and placed on each project or in the hands of the Job Safety Inspector.

A total of 693 lost-time accidents were reported to the State Safety Director's office during the life of Civil Works. For the sake of standard reporting, a lost-time accident was termed one that caused the injured employee to lose more than the remainder of the shift. For instance, if the shift's starting time was 7 a.m., and the employee was injured at 11 a.m., if he was not able to report for work the next morning at 7 a.m., his accident was termed "lost-time," even though he might come in to work during the morning. These injuries, generally, caused the loss of only one or two days. The total number of cases drawing compensation can be secured from the report of the Director of Compensation.

Of the 693 lost-time accidents reported, 113 occurred prior to the beginning of the Safety program, or prior to January 1, 1934. During Civil Works a total of 22,257,263 man-hours was worked. The frequency rate for North Carolina for the entire period of Civil Works was 31.1, an unusually low frequency considering the type of work and the fact that the majority of our employees

were not used to out-of-doors labor. Our frequency compares with a confidential reporting from Washington of a frequency average over the entire country of 47.1. The same confidential report showed an average of 911 lost-time accidents as against our record of 693.

Only three fatalities were reported to this department during Civil Works, one prior to the Safety program, and two during March, when the morale of employees was at its lowest. Two of these fatalities were caused by falling trees and the third by the fall from a 10-foot scaffold.

The three District Safety Supervisors and the State Safety Director visited as many of the more hazardous projects as possible. In several instances these inspections disclosed very hazardous conditions which were immediately corrected thus, preventing a large number of serious injuries.

The Safety Department enjoyed the fullest coöperation from the State Administration down to the individual worker on the project, without which the Safety Program could not have been successful. This coöperation was greatly appreciated by the Department. Especial mention should be made of the County and City Safety Directors, who, working under great strain, were able to keep their record down to the minimum.

COMPENSATION DEPARTMENT

The office of the State Director of Compensation was established as a part of the state administrative staff for the purpose of supervision, in collaboration with the U. S. Employees' Compensation Commission, of all injuries sustained by employees on Civil Works projects.

There was added, under the instruction of the State Administrator, to each local staff a suitable person to administer all matters in connection with employees injured in the performance of duty on CWA projects. Within ten days compensation organization throughout the state was completed, the local staff fully instructed in the rules and regulations governing compensatory injuries, and all compensation bulletins distributed.

As of the date of submitting this report there has been reported and filed a history of 1,435 injuries sustained on Civil Works projects in North Carolina.

During the period in which persons were employed in CWA projects, there were reported only three fatalities. There were not more than twenty injuries which could be classed as permanent, and in all of these there is a probability of only partial permanent disability.

A great majority of the injuries reported were of a minor character. There were not more than 265 injuries which necessitated the payment of compensation locally. The curtailment of injuries in the State of North Carolina was due to the efficient safety organization which was established under the direction of the State Administrator.

STATUS OF PROJECTS AT THE CLOSE OF CWA OPERATION

Many projects were left in an unfinished state at the close of the Civil Works program. This was due to a large extent to the drastic curtailment of CWA funds and the demobilization of the Civil Works Administration.

When the closing out of the CWA began, every effort was made by the state office to discontinue projects which could be left in their existing state with little or no damage, and with little or no loss of materials.

About 25 per cent of the projects approved was completely finished at the end of the Civil Works Administration. About 30 per cent of the projects was about 80 per cent completed, and about 45 per cent was 50 per cent complete, or less. Of those incomplete, it was possible to drop a good many. Every effort was made to bring the others to completion under the ERA program.

* The peak of employment under CWA reached 78,360 workers, including CWS projects, refer page 263. In addition to workers paid from CWA funds, women employed on CWS and paid from ERA funds numbered: December 3,215; January 5,369; February 6,836; March 5,072.

Payrolls on CWS are included in the report of ERA expenditures for work relief.

(1) Gymnasium built in Yadkin County. (2) Schoolhouse built in Iredell County. Pump house and Gymnasium in background also built as ERA projects. (3) Tyrrell County Home constructed under CWA and ERA. (4) School farm shop built in Iredell County. (5) County Home barn built in Union County. (6) County Home barn built in Haywood County. (7) Community House built in Madison County. (8) Community House built at Leaksville, Rockingham County.

(1) Community House built at Roxboro, Person County. (2) Community House built at Belmont, Gaston County. (3) Community House built at Ayden, Pitt County. (4) Community House built at Pittsboro, Chatham County.

(1) Negro school at Selma, Johnston County, built with ERA and State funds. (2) Comfort School, Jones County. (3) Addition to colored school in Wake County. (4) Addition to school in Stanly County. (5) Negro school built in Scotland County. (6) Training school built in Moore County. (7) School built in Moore County. (8) Laurinburg vocational school in Scotland County.

THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION

THE OBJECTIVE OF A SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION

"Essentially, social case work involves two things, the attempt to understand the needs and problems of a particular family, and the attempt to work out a plan of treatment adapted to the needs of that particular family."1

1 Porter, Rose, "The Organization and Administration of Public Relief Agencies."

The objective of a Social Service Division is service to the family. In meeting this objective, this division made use of the resources of other divisions, such as the Works Division and the Rural Rehabilitation Division which also had specified responsibilities to families. The Social Service Division was called upon to handle any problems to which a family falls heir, from giving direct relief, to finding a way for the burial of a family member, although ERA could not pay for this latter service. If domestic difficulties threatened the harmonious unity of a family, the social worker tried to serve as an outlet for overwrought emotions, and in so doing helped to stabilize the situation.

In discussing the responsibility of the Social Service Division for service to families, it is necessary to consider the individual in relation to his environment. The social worker sees a person and his environment as a whole: (a) his attitudes toward work, toward his family or his fellowmen which grow out of the opportunities which life brings him, plus his natural endowments, and the series of experiences which weave themselves somehow into the fabric of his existence; (b) his setting, the home in which he was born and reared, its culture, its harmony, its discipline, its ideals, its strength, and its handicaps; (c) his initiative and creative powers as revealed by his progress in home building, his success in earning a livelihood and in personal accomplishments.

THE NORMAL FAMILY IS SELF-SUPPORTING

The normal family is an independent and self-sufficient unit. It gives those services of which it is capable and receives in return that income which means shelter, food, clothing, medical attention, education and recreation. When the income is sufficient, there can be more investment in what are usually termed luxuries. But the law of cause and effect also operates in family life. When some cause, such as unemployment, illness, marital or family disruption, is set into operation, it tends to deflect the harmonious flow of family life. A disruption occurs, its seriousness and the period of its effect, being directly proportioned to the seriousness of the cause. It is when a serious disruption occurs which needs some outside counsel and assistance, beyond the resources of the family, that it becomes necessary to extend available aid in one form or another.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Beyond the immediate environment of the family may be a worldwide depression. Within the family environment is forced unemployment. Whatever the cause may be, the effects of prolonged

unemployment are easily discernible. Unemployment means the need of food, light, shelter, clothing, education, and recreation, not alone for actual subsistence, but for the conservation of those vital human factors, the maintenance of which makes for a wholesome family and community life. While leaders in government and industry are attempting to mend the fabric of our national economic life, it becomes the task of social workers to aid in conserving our human resources, to impart morale, and to lend their aid in stimulating the creation of those standards of living which will best maintain human values.

Another family situation which demands the attention of social workers is that occasioned by part-time employment. Part-time employment is one step nearer actual unemployment. Part-time jobs, or poorly paid jobs, mean poor shelter, insufficient food and clothing, sickness and worry. Individuals whose livelihood depends on manual labor cannot, under these conditions, continue to earn for themselves and others.

Skilled and professional workers cannot work well and worry at the same time. Lack of the necessities of life causes sickness. The body must have proper nourishment, just as it must have sufficient shelter and clothing. Security and recreation are as essential to mental health as food and clothing are to physical health. Worry for oneself and one's dependents, if prolonged, may invite physical, mental, and even moral breakdowns. There will be an attendant loss of that driving force which coördinates the whole personality and gives it a sense of direction.

A poor diet or worry causes an individual's work to fall below par. He is usually the first to be "laid off" because of the mediocre nature of his work. If an individual's work has been consistently mediocre, he has never had either commendation or recommendations from his employer or fellow-workmen. This fact leads to further personality difficulties. Chance illness, diseases, and unavoidable injury are other causes of part-time employment, or involuntary unemployment. A poor background, illiteracy, a poor understanding of working and farming conditions, as well as poor health habits, are other causes for families not being self-supporting.

THE SOCIAL WORK PROBLEM

The foregoing statements suggest certain problems of service to the family. The tools which a social worker uses in performing services to the family include a knowledge of human nature and social institutions, objective analysis, a consideration of the role of the family and the individuals therein, practical suggestions to arouse effort on the part of the individuals themselves to work out their own problems, and, through assistance in the form of relief, to supply those deficiencies which unemployment and impoverishment of body and mind have brought about. This last was, for the majority of families, the major role assumed by the Social Service Division, for the program of emergency relief has been directed primarily to the financial needs of families.

THE SOCIAL WORK APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

"To help man out of trouble one must know him and understand him . . ." when the difficulty concerns a human being, we should approach its adjustment from as complete a knowledge of him as it is possible to obtain.2

THE INVESTIGATION, LEARNING THE FAMILY SITUATION

The "investigation," or more appropriately, the "social inquiry," seeks a clear understanding of the family and its needs. The investigation, then, is an attempt on the part of the social worker to obtain this knowledge.

The social worker learns the family situation in terms of the following factors: a knowledge of the family income, if any; the family resources, both material and personal; the family's health, which includes knowledge of the family's dietary and health habits; the home, and the lacks, if any, in the way of conveniences; the living and sleeping arrangements, and the state of repair of the premises. Further, the social inquiry should obtain a knowledge of the family's environment, its heritage and interests, emerging from its background and experience, and the acquired interests of the family. The attitudes of each individual to the others, to the family, and to the social worker are other factors which the social worker observes. Observation is not limited to any one particular phase of the family, but of necessity, greater emphasis is laid on the apparent major problem or need, whether it be financial, health, or personal maladjustment of an individual in the family.

THE FAMILY AND THE SOCIAL WORKER MAKE PLANS

The social worker gathers information as the basis for making plans for assistance to the family. She has been able to learn something of the vocational background from former employers. In the light of the facts which she obtains, she is able to approach the family with her knowledge, understanding, and ability to extend any needed financial assistance, on the one hand, and, on the other, with an appeal to the family to plan with her in meeting its problems.

HOME RELIEF

Clothing, rent, household necessities, and other commodities were given to the family, when lack of income, or the family's unemployability, made it necessary. Medical care, surgical and corrective care were other services provided for families with income insufficient to meet these needs. The social worker was sometimes faced with personality difficulties in individuals. Advice about home making, the care of young children, or instruction in health habits and home beautification were other services which were asked for by families and given by the social worker.

THE WORKS DIVISION AND ITS RESOURCES

If the problem be that of unemployment, as has been the case during these last years for the majority of those in need, then the worker and the family plan together to provide work for that family member best suited to be the breadwinner, either through private employment, or by placement on public works projects under the ERA Works Division. The family and the worker conclude that, as a means of assistance in meeting the financial problems, work is preferable to direct relief in maintaining the family's self-respect and independence, as well as the respect of the family's friends and fellow-citizens. With the prolonged depression, the value of work relief, as compared with direct relief, became more and more apparent. It was more adequate and provided the opportunity for the relief clients to live by their own efforts.

The Civil Works Administration demonstrated that people could be profitably employed on public works projects. The public, as well as the Works Division, was interested in having desirable work done well. As the work program developed, the Social Service Division was called upon to assume a heavy task, that of coöperating with the Works Division in certifying members of families who were most suitable for employment on projects because of their employability or particular

skills. This relationship between the Social Service Division and the Works Division continued until the end of ERA, each division strengthening the other through its contributions and concern for the well-being of the families. The quality of the service rendered families by the Social Service Division, coöperating with the other divisions, demonstrated the value of a careful analysis of family strengths, needs, temperaments, and potentialities for restoration to a self-sufficient status.

In a selected month, April, 1935 (see page 126), it will be seen that 48.6 per cent of the ERA dollar was used for general relief, that is, direct relief and work relief. Of this amount, that expended for work relief was slightly more than twice the amount of direct relief, work relief being 33 per cent, and direct relief being 15.6 per cent. The remainder of the ERA dollar went for special programs, such as Rural Rehabilitation, 19.3 per cent; Administration, 9.2 per cent; Materials, 7.1 per cent; the Educational Program, 6.6 per cent; Rentals, 4.9 per cent; Non-Relief Expenditures, 3.2 per cent; and Transients, 0.9 per cent. This analysis shows the increasing importance of the Works Division as it was developed, for one of its major functions became that of fitting its employment of individuals into the total social program of the ERA as administered by the Social Service Division. The Social Service Division had the further responsibility of keeping check on the individual's work history, of granting relief to unemployables, emergency cases, and of providing medical care, etc.

DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY

The "Intake Clerk," or office interviewer, had the responsibility of determining which applications should be accepted and referred to the case worker for full investigation. Approximately 40 per cent of applications made was not accepted. The following policy governing investigations was determined by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration:

"The minimum investigation shall include a prompt visit to the home; inquiry as to real property, bank accounts, and other financial resources of the family; an interview with at least one recent employer; and determination of the ability and agreement of family, relatives, friends, and churches and other organizations to assist; also the liability under public welfare laws of the several states, of members of a family, or relatives, to assume such support in order to prevent such member becoming a public charge.

"Investigation shall be made, not only of persons applying directly to the office, but also of those reported to it. In this emergency, it is the duty of those responsible for the administration of unemployment relief to seek out persons in need, and to secure the coöperation of clergymen, school teachers, nurses, and organizations that might assist."

Case workers were requested to keep in close touch with the family under care to avoid the necessity of the applicant applying repeatedly to the office for assistance.

STANDARDS OF RELIEF

The standards of relief were influenced by standards of living in the community, and were determined largely by the local or district administrators on the basis of funds available.

Certain state-wide policies were in force regarding preparation of family weekly budgets by the local social service division and the determination of budgetary deficiency, the difference between the estimated budget and any income to the family. This "budgetary deficiency" was provided, as nearly as funds permitted, to prevent suffering and preserve health. Because of the undernourishment of families, a variety of diet and the best quality of food in addition to clothing were provided wherever possible.

SERVICE CASES

Families and individuals other than those receiving relief were known as "Service Cases." This type of service, such as finding employment, obtaining help from relatives, adjusting financial obligations, etc., required, in many instances, much more of the worker's time and effort than was required for those receiving relief. This service to families obviated the necessity of their becoming public charges. Although an average of 10,000 cases received such help each month, such cases were not represented in the reported total monthly case load.

RELATION OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION TO SPECIAL PROGRAMS

As the social work was the foundation of the entire relief program, the Social Service Division was called upon to assume an active role in assisting with all special programs within the ERA.

Eligible young men from relief families were assisted in their efforts to enroll in the CCC, where they received needed physical and vocational training, while their families received the major part of their income and were removed from relief rolls.

In towns where no transient center existed, the social worker provided temporary food and shelter for transients in immediate need, assisting them to reach their destination or a transient center. The services of the case worker in the transient centers included the determination of need, investigation and advisability of returning to place of legal settlement, fitness for work, and adjustment of individual problems.

By means of the farm and garden program, workers assisted families through their own efforts to provide a variety of fresh vegetables for immediate use, as well as preservation and storage for the winter. This was a valuable service in developing habits of thrift and instilling a sense of security in having foods for daily and future needs.

Since North Carolina is so largely rural, the services to rural families comprised one of the major services of the Social Service Division. In coöperation with the Rural Rehabilitation Division, the social worker formulated plans for the restoration of stranded rural families and families of meager opportunities. Through continued contacts and counsel with these families who had secured advances for farm supplies, equipment, and stock from the Rural Rehabilitation Division, the worker assisted in the initial steps toward permanent rehabilitation through agriculture.

The social worker was the contact person in the Emergency Education Program. This program attained its dual objective in furnishing remunerative work for many unemployed and needy teachers, and a liberal education and vocational training for a far greater number of students, through which both teachers and pupils were benefited.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION SINCE OCTOBER, 1932

The first consideration in development of the Social Service Division was the strengthening of its personnel through training. In July, 1933, the Social Service Division of the Governor's Office of Relief called the local administrators and social workers from each of the 107 administrations to Chapel Hill for a month's training at the University of North Carolina. The Annual Public Welfare Institute was combined with this summer session of social work training and held under the joint auspices of the Relief Administration, the State Public Welfare Department, and the School of Public Administration of the University of North Carolina, the staff of the University lending every possible assistance in class instruction, forums, and group discussion.

Under the new ERA, in the fall of 1933, the division began to carry out its plan to introduce a trained case work supervisor into each unit, but for the most part the county administrator supervised case work along with all his other duties. Case work personnel was classified according to

social work training and experience, and a uniform salary scale worked out on the basis of this classification. Training was provided for the visitors along the lines previously followed.

Arrangements for further training were made during the year 1934 with the School of Public Administration of the University to send a selected group of case workers to the University for a quarter's work to be followed by work in the field. This training was financed by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration.

A special grant from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration made it possible for a group of fellowships to be awarded. In the fall of 1934, six students were sent to the New York School of Social Work for the fall and winter quarters, four were sent to the Pennsylvania School of Social Work for one semester, and four to the Atlanta School of Social Work for one semester. In the spring of 1935, six were sent to the New York School for the spring and summer quarters, five to the Pennsylvania School for the spring semester, and four to the Atlanta School for the spring semester.

FERA FELLOWSHIP STUDENTS

The New York School of Social Work:

Fall and Winter, 1934

Mrs. Roma Cheek

Mrs. Inez B. Wall

Miss Evelyn Rogers

Miss Virginia Crawford

Miss Euzelia Smart

Miss Mary Louise Riggsbee

Spring and Summer, 1935

Miss Lessie Toler

Miss Ethel Speas

Miss Grace Williams

Mrs. Lucille Hassell Harris

Mr. J. S. Kirk

Miss Ruth Henry

The Pennsylvania School of Social Work:

Fall, 1934

Miss Kathleen Tyer

Miss Rebecca Hoskins

Mrs. Bina Scott Roberts

Miss Mary Frances Parker

Spring, 1934

Miss Margaret Glover

Mrs. Mary Neal Jackson

Miss Iris Flythe

Miss Lenna Gambill

Mrs. Marguerite LeMay Mauney

The Atlanta School of Social Work:

Fall, 1934

Mr. James H. Bailey, Jr.

Mrs. Jeanette M. Sills

Mrs. Mary Delaney

Miss Rose Mae Withers

Spring, 1935

Mrs. P. S. O'Kelly

Miss Ruth Mitchell

Mr. James H. Holmes

Mr. Godfrey Herndon

Within the organization a program of Institutes was arranged to provide some training for all the workers without taking them away from their duties for too long a period. A Director of Institutes and an Assistant, both trained social workers, were added to the state staff. These institutes were of two types. There was one series of four-day institutes held at various points, including the supervisory personnel and visiting staff from the entire state. Emphasis was placed upon the philosophy of social work and social work techniques, the application of social work practice to particular situations, and the relation of the Visitor to her job and to the community. The other series of institutes was of two weeks' duration. Classes were informal, based on a combination method of lecture, discussion, written assignments, and written reports. Emphasis was

laid on the study of the Visitor's attitude and the importance of this attitude in administering relief, the importance of allowing the client to make his own plans, taking operative factors into consideration.

The influence of the philosophy of case work in the Emergency Relief Administration was shown. The interview was analyzed and studied. The necessity of determining relief eligibility on a budgetary basis was elaborated. The national program was clarified in both series of institutes.

Improvement was made in social records and organization of the routine of visitors. Uniform forms for a more complete face sheet, a budget form, a field sheet, intake blank, case transfer records, and other forms were introduced. Special effort was made to procure complete case histories of all relief families. A Manual of Instruction for Supervisors and Visitors was published which included a definition of the field of activity of Supervisors and Visitors, as well as suggestions in regard to procedure. District reference libraries of social work publications were supplied by the state office to be made available to the case workers.

INTERRUPTION OF THE SOCIAL PROGRAM BY THE CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

The development and strengthening of the social program in 1933 and 1934 was disrupted and set back by the Civil Works Administration. The speed with which this immense program was put into operation made it impossible to build up a well-equipped personnel. The need was immediate and had to be met without delay. This situation meant that the attention and interest of all workers were absorbed by CWA, and as a result, long-time plans and routine procedure suffered.

PROBLEMS GROWING OUT OF THE CIVIL WORKS ADMINISTRATION

After the Civil Works Administration was brought to a close, many problems growing out of it remained to aggravate the difficulties of the Social Service Division. The pressure of the program had instilled work habits that were too hurried to be thorough. There was general confusion about the nature of the program after the end of the Civil Works Administration, and many persons were demanding work although they were resentful of case work investigations and relief budgets. The investigation of new applicants for relief was a tremendous job and a difficult one due to attitudes which had developed. Relief clients who had received high wages fought a decrease in allowances.

During the three months of hurry and strain, case records had lapsed and visiting habits suffered. In addition to a reinterpretation of the program to the client and would-be client, the social service workers had a large part of the responsibility of interpretation to the public, a public resentful toward the high wages of the Civil Works Administration.

When the program was put back on a relief basis, the case worker had to interpret to the Works Division the abilities of the clients and in many cases to withstand pressure for certification of non-relief skilled workmen to complete CWA projects. During this period, the clients developed a highly critical attitude toward administrative workers. Complaint letters increased tremendously in volume, organized protest groups became more active and vocal and thus required more time from the Social Service Division.

It was not easy to gather up the broken and tangled threads and try to start again weaving a pattern planned before the CWA experience. Case loads had grown, the organization had grown in size and complexity, and the work of the social service staff needed redefinition and reformation. The staff was not equipped and was not large enough for the task confronting it. It became a pressing concern of the Director of Social Service to put into immediate effect plans for the reorganization of the Social Service Division, plans which had been, of necessity, abandoned during CWA.

An adjustment division, under the supervision of the Assistant to the Director of the Social Service Division, was added. All complaints were carefully analyzed, referred to the proper division of ERA for investigation and adjustment, and followed through until a completed report of investigation, and adjustment where justified, was in the state office files.

CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTY UNITS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIAL PROGRAM

During the months following the liquidation of CWA, the social workers, already carrying far too heavy loads in number of clients per worker, were called upon to assist all other divisions to such an extent that social work was lagging.

Through the consolidation of the 107 administrative units into 31 districts, the Social Service Division was strengthened. In each county a branch office was retained, with a staff of visitors and a senior case worker in charge. In the process of consolidation, trained social workers were secured for almost all of the district social service supervisory positions. The district social service supervisor worked directly under the District Administrator and was in charge of all social service activities in the district. This included supervision of all visitors through the senior case worker, and organization of the routine of the county office, in addition to coördination of the work in the various branch offices. In one or two instances, persons with no training, but with considerable experience with the organization, were selected. These were to be replaced by trained workers as they became available. The introduction of trained supervisors was one of the most important advances made by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration in improving the organization and standards of case work done.

NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILIES BY SIZE FORNORTH CAROLINA--1930 AND CASE LOAD--JANUARY, 1935

Under the district organization, the staff of the Social Service Division by April, 1935, had increased within a year from approximately five hundred to about eleven hundred. The effort was made to employ a sufficient number of visitors to reduce the case load per worker to seventy-five cases in the rural areas and one hundred in urban centers. District Social Service Supervisors and Senior Case Workers were selected with special emphasis upon training, and there was constant weeding out of untrained and unpromising workers employed during the early days of the program when the need for workers was so great that due care could not be given to selection.

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

The Social Service Division has worked closely with research projects carried on under the direction of the Division of Research, Statistics, and Finance of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, giving assistance through case workers and records in the local offices, and furnishing personnel with experience in social investigation for field work. The division directly supervised a continuation of the studies of displaced farm tenants begun in 1933. This study was enlarged and a survey was made of active relief cases in typical counties in all agricultural regions of the state. This survey was of great value in the selection of rural rehabilitation clients. The Social Service Division also coöperated in the Child Welfare Survey carried on by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, the American Legion, and the American Legion Auxiliary.

NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILIES BY SIZE FOR NORTH CAROLINA--1930ANDCASE LOAD--JUNE, 1935

See special descriptive matter referring to these Illustrations on page 141.

[Appeared on page 141 in original.](1) Home of a typical Rural Rehabilitation family, Alexander County. (2) Children of this Rural Rehabilitation family, Alexander County. (3) House built for Relief Family, Brunswick County. (4) The home of a Relief family in Iredell County. This house was built during the winter months of 1934. Through field work the mother secured $20 with which she purchased a one-acre tract of land. A neighbor offered her the logs in a near-by house which had fallen down. She and her son, with the help of some neighbors, put these logs together, making a one-room cabin. There was nothing with which to chink the cracks, and late November found the family with no chimney and no way to keep out the cold winter air. The mother then agreed to pick 2,000 pounds of cotton for a neighbor if he would give her the brick in a chimney left in his field from a building that had burned there several years before. She and her children took this chimney down and carried the brick about a mile to their cabin. It was then that the Relief Administration, together with the County Welfare Department, gave her assistance in building the chimney and boarding up the inside of the cabin. Eleven persons live in this one room. (5) Rural Rehabilitation client, Craven County. This family purchased one acre of land and constructed the house from farm income under the Rural Rehabilitation Program of 1934. (6) Alexander County. The head of this family worked under the CWA program, saved his money and bought a small tract of land on which there was a tobacco barn. With the aid of his wife and children he gathered field stones and built a chimney, then added a room and porch, in this way converting the barn into a livable home. The owner and his family are delighted to have had an opportunity to acquire a home and are planning through the Rural Rehabilitation Program to buy necessary stock and equipment so that they may become self-supporting. (7) Rural Rehabilitation family, Rutherford County. This family built the cabin themselves, out of slabs. The land had no house on it. (8) Relief family, Iredell County. This is an illustration of the need for relief. The family is tragically poor. The father does not have either the willingness or the intelligence to provide for the family. There was one bed for the entire family. A pile of cotton in one corner of the room furnished the bed and covering for part of the family. Food was prepared on the hearth, for there was no cook stove. A "hoe-cake" was broken into bits and handed to members of the family, since there was no table at which the family could sit, and there were no dishes from which food could be served.

* The Residual Case Load is defined as the cases actually receiving relief during the first five days of December, 1935, and for many reasons, such as physical disability, no projects available, widow with minor children, etc., had not been assigned to any public agency as Works Progress Administration, Rural Resettlement, Soil Conservation, etc. This, however, does not include an additional 16,500 relief cases which were closed, for whom relief had been discontinued prior to November 1 because of the inadequacy of relief funds, and had not been assigned to any public agency by December 15, 1935.

NUMBER OF CASES

13,510

NUMBER IN FAMILY:

Adults

30,344

Children

30,875

ON RELIEF:

Before May

1,320

On Relief or accepted for relief in May

7,649

Accepted--June to November

2,967

Accepted since November

2,894

13,510

PRIMARY REASONS FOR ACTUAL OR PROBABLE NON-ACCEPTANCE BY WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION OR OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAMS:

On relief after November 1

2,894

No project available

2,192

Live too far from project

1,209

Widow (er) with minor children

470

Unmarried mother with minor children

92

All employables in school

63

Responsible person serving sentence

159

Can do light work only

497

Chronic illness

468

Temporary acute illness

328

Infirm, aged, blind, or crippled

386

Insanity

25

Low mentality

90

Poor rural rehabilitation risk

223

Did not report for WPA work

197

Private employment

909

Temporary private employment

120

Not registered

23

Not called

1,579

Not certified

27

Not assigned

120

Son in CCC

92

Moved from place of residence

65

Placement incomplete

39

Unknown

1,243

13,510

SOCIAL SECURITY SURVEY

On one of the last research projects of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, the Social Service Division assisted untiringly in an effort to coöperate with the administration in making a survey of all relief clients who may expect benefits from the Federal Social Security Act of 1935. This coöperation consisted of the transfer of some 30,000 case records to prepared schedules. This was an immense job in addition to the manifold functions and tasks that the Social Service Division was called upon to perform in connection with the increasing problems and the decreasing funds during the latter part of 1935. However, it was felt that the survey when completed would present to North Carolina an accurate picture of the need of many of its people who have been on relief, and would assist in the future in securing assistance for the aged and infirm, dependent children, the crippled, blind, and physically handicapped, in such proportion as to assure some degree of security for these citizens from the vicissitudes of life.

SERVICES TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES

In the whole period, both before and after consolidation, the Social Service Division continued its services to other agencies in certifying and assisting in placing Emergency Relief Administration clients in other Federal programs, such as Rural Resettlement Administration, National Youth Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Employment Service, the Soil Conservation Service, the Works Progress Administration, etc. By December, 1935, the Social Service Division had certified 67,232 families to the Works Progress Administration and other Federal programs, of which numbers, approximately 45,000 had been placed on this and other programs by the time relief was discontinued.

Throughout the whole period of its operation, the Social Service Division, using all the facilities and resources at its command, had one objective, to render adequate service to families and individuals in effecting necessary adjustment; and one method, to approach the solution of these human problems with an informed mind and in the spirit of understanding. Of this objective, and this method, the public, it is believed, is becoming increasingly aware.

MEDICAL CARE

The general scope of medical care, as defined by the FERA, permitted the use of Federal funds to pay for medicines, medical supplies, and medical attention for recipients of unemployment relief in their homes or in the offices of physicians. It also permitted bedside nursing care, as an adjunct to medical care, and emergency dental service. Payment of bills for hospital or institutional care for indigents was not permitted, since this is a recognized responsibility of state and local governments.

The regulations provided that: (1) A uniform policy with regard to provisions of medical, nursing, and dental care for relief clients be made the basis of an agreement between the State Administration and the state and local organized medical, nursing, and dental professions; (2) Within legal and economic limitations, the traditional family and physician relationship be recognized in the authorizations for medical care; (3) An agreement by the physician, nurse, and dentist to furnish the same type of service that would be furnished a private patient, the authorized service to be at a minimum consistent with good professional judgment and charged for at an agreed rate with due allowance for the conservation of relief funds.

The policy was to "augment and render more adequate facilities already existing in the community for the provision of medical care by the medical, nursing, and dental professions to indigent persons," but Federal funds could not be used in lieu of local or state funds to pay for these established services.

Participation in medical care of relief persons was open to all licensed practitioners of medicine and related professions who were willing to accept the regulations and restrictions of the program.

Early in October, 1934, the State Administration and the officers of the State Medical Association agreed upon uniform procedures and a schedule of fees for treatment of relief clients which was in affect in all counties. The schedule of fees was superseded by a revised schedule on December 7, 1934. A State Advisory Medical Committee, appointed by the State Medical Association, and county advisory committees, appointed by the county medical associations, assisted the state and local administrations in an advisory capacity.

A uniform policy for nursing care was not adopted. Bedside nursing was provided for clients by district administrators. Also unemployed and needy nurses were employed on county-wide or district-wide projects for examinations and care of pre-school children of relief families, clinics, instruction in health standards, etc.

An arrangement for dental treatment of indigent school children, under the supervision of the State Board of Health, was in effect during the school term of 1933-34.

Emergency dental treatment was provided for the clients, but uniform procedures and schedules of dental fees were not agreed upon by the State Administration and officers of the State Dental Society until 1935.

All authorizations for medical, nursing, and dental service were issued in writing on regular forms by county social workers, before the service was rendered, except in emergencies when telephonic authorization was given, followed by written order.

The cost of medical care has varied greatly from month to month. Epidemics of colitis among children, influenza, with resulting pneumonia, and other diseases account for the apparent spasmodic high cost of medical care.

An epidemic of "hemorrhagic fever," a fatal semi-tropical disease occurring in malarious areas, which, through the efforts of the State Health Department, had become practically extinct in this state, broke out among relief families in an eastern county. The quick action of the local administration in treating patients and in immunizing exposed clients, and otherwise quickly getting the disease under control, prevented the spread to other counties.

Lack of adequate food and warm clothing has lowered the vitality of relief clients and made them particularly susceptible to disease. Frequently proper medical care has resulted in the clients securing private employment and thus being removed from relief rolls.

In coöperation with State and County Health Departments, the Relief Administrations aided in reducing social disease. The State Health Department purchased medicine at wholesale prices for the Relief Administration. This was then distributed to the district administrations for use in counties having no funds for such purchases, and given through clinics or by designated physicians, upon authority of the county social workers.

The cost of medical care will be found on page 146.

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CENSUS

Shortly after the organization of the Division of Research and Statistics of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, plans were formulated for the taking of a nation-wide census of persons receiving unemployment relief. The last week in October, 1933, all the State Statisticians from this area were called to a conference in Washington. There they were told that a census was contemplated covering all cases who had received relief during October. It was decided to use a single-page schedule containing a minimum amount of information. The data was limited to four major categories, namely the color and size of relief families, and the sex and age of the persons in the families. In addition, the name and street address of the head of the family were given, and the place of residence, state, county, urban or rural.

A small staff was organized in the State ERA, and a supply of schedules was mailed to each county relief office. Since the information required was so simple, it was possible, in most instances, to transcribe it directly from the case cards to the census blanks. Only occasionally were field visits necessary to supplement the office records.

When a completed schedule arrived in Raleigh, it was given a careful examination to determine all spaces were filled and to detect any inconsistency in the answers. Those which appeared to be correct were sent to the Area Coding Office in Columbia, South Carolina; those incorrect were returned to the county of origin.

The work of transcribing schedules proceeded steadily during the first part of November, and by the end of the month all had been forwarded to Columbia. North Carolina was notified that it was the first State to complete the census.

Final tabulations, analysis and interpretation of the data secured in the Unemployment Relief Census were conducted in Washington and the results were published in three Bulletins, as follows:

Number One presented the number of families by size and race, and the number of persons by age, sex, and race, for geographic divisions, for states, and cities.

Number Two presented similar data for the rural and urban areas and for all counties.

Number Three described family composition of the cases receiving emergency relief.

The total schedules completed for North Carolina represented 56,041 families, comprising 252,220 individuals. Of these persons 147,435 were white; 104,124 were Negro, and 661 were of other races. Rural dwellers numbered 167,992 and urban 84,228.

WORKS DIVISION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION

APRIL, 1934-DECEMBER, 1935

Since the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administrator was also Civil Works Administrator for North Carolina, most of the Civil Works Administration personnel became Emergency Relief Administration personnel at the close of the Civil Works program. This greatly expedited the organization and the functioning of the Emergency Relief Administration program and enabled the work program in North Carolina to be gotten under way much more quickly than would have been the case if an entirely new organization had taken over the Emergency Relief Administration.

When notice was received to begin the liquidation of the Civil Works program, preparations were immediately made to transfer the projects to the Emergency Relief Administration, and Emergency Relief projects were received and approved in the state office as soon as the Civil Works program was officially terminated, that is, on March 31, 1934. By May 15, 1934, all of the most important CWA projects had been approved as ERA projects.

NUMBER RELIEF CASES EMPLOYED ON PROJECTS NOT INCLUDING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Date:

April, 1934

11,468

May, 1934

17,465

June, 1934

24,840

July, 1934

28,634

August, 1934

36,896

September, 1934

35,015

October, 1934

25,138

November, 1934

29,569

December, 1934

33,650

January, 1935

41,781

February, 1935

40,167

March, 1935

41,218

April, 1935

42,901

May, 1935

44,291

June, 1935

42,507

July, 1935

42,224

August, 1935

35,724

September, 1935

29,781

October, 1935

26,389

November, 1935

9,217

The State Works Division exercised through its field forces supervision over all the activities of all local and district works divisions. The State Works Division served to coördinate the activities of all district and local works divisions so that uniform methods and procedure were followed throughout the state.

Local and state projects, except for those carried on by the Emergency Relief Administration for its own purposes, were sponsored by various local governmental units such as the various villages, towns and cities, counties, drainage districts, etc. Some local projects, such as malaria control, rural sanitation and road and highway work, were jointly sponsored by local governmental units and the various departments of the state government. State projects were sponsored by various state departments such as the State Highway Commission, the State Board of Health, the Department of Conservation and Development, etc. State and local projects were initiated either by state or local governmental units or by state or local governmental units with the coöperation of the Emergency Relief Administration. Over the state as a whole, there were many instances where it was necessary in order to keep the work program functioning for the local or district works divisions

to induce governmental units to initiate projects. In no instances did the Emergency Relief Administration appear as sponsor for projects that were carried on as public property projects unless the Emergency Relief Administration secured a direct benefit, such as salvaged materials, for carrying on the work.

As the work program progressed, the matter of initiation of projects, especially in the more heavily populated areas, became a matter of coöperation between the ERA and various governmental units. In this way it was possible for the Emergency Relief Administration to carry on projects that were adapted to the relief load. Every effort was made to make governmental officials fully informed of the various rules, regulations and policies for governing the work program so that they could initiate the projects that were well worthwhile and at the same time adaptable to the work relief program. Full coöperation between any organization carrying on a work relief program and all state and local governmental units is essential to most efficient operation of a works program.

Supervision and control of actual operations descended in a straight line from the Director of the Works Division, through the Division Engineers, to the District and Local Project Supervisors, to the foreman or superintendents on the jobs. The Division Engineers acted as field representatives of the State Works Division and were responsible for the supervision and control of all projects. The District Project Supervisors were held responsible to the state office through the Division Engineers. Various members of the State Works Division who had specialized training in various fields assisted the Division Engineers from time to time in supervision of projects. The State Works Division at all times kept the Division Engineers fully informed of its contacts with all local and district works divisions and rarely contacted projects except in company with the Division Engineer.

Local and district works divisions were required to report to the state office weekly on all projects in the "B" field of activity, and monthly on all projects in other fields of activity. A copy of this report was sent to the Division Engineers. A weekly report was also required of the District Project Supervisors covering their activities for each week. The weekly and monthly progress reports covered the location, description, and number of the project; the county in which it was located; percentage of completion; the amount of money allotted for various items; average number of employees used during the reporting period and the number of hours these employees worked; the amount paid to the employees by ERA and from other sources; the amount of work done during the reporting period; and the amount of work done to date. The District Project Supervisors' weekly reports indicated the number of projects visited, remarks as to the progress of the projects, report and the inspection of proposed or contemplated projects, etc.

Other functions of the State Works Division were to check, examine and recommend for approval all works projects. Before the State Works Division recommended approval of any project, it was thoroughly and carefully checked from the standpoint of economic and social value to the community and for engineering soundness. The plans were carefully checked, availability of labor was determined and it was ascertained that proper and necessary materials were provided and all necessary labor, material and equipment to complete the project were covered in the project application.

The State Works Division also served as a central clearing house for all reports and information concerning the Works Program and forwarded to Washington the required reports.

The State Works Division, the Division Engineers and the District Work Divisions were all coordinated in the general planning of Works Division activities. Works Division activities were planned primarily on the basis of the occupations of employable relief cases. Unless projects provided work for the relief cases, they were not considered feasible projects.

Projects were carried on in every county in the state. The largest and most difficult projects were, of course, carried on in the more thickly populated areas such as Charlotte, Asheville, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro. Projects in the more sparsely populated areas were as a rule small and of a simple nature, since the difficulties of getting a large number of workers together in one place were very great. It is felt that a work program is much more feasible in the more thickly populated areas than in those areas where the population is small and scattered. Among the reasons for this are, as mentioned above, difficulties of getting any large number of workers transported to one spot, the lack of interest on the part of the public, difficulty of getting worthwhile projects and difficulty of getting materials furnished by the local governmental units. In the western part of North Carolina, the population in the mountain areas is extremely scattered and more than usual difficulties are encountered in transportation. The coöperation of the State Highway Commission, however, made it possible to carry on a number of very worthwhile road and highway projects which were valuable to that section of the state. In the eastern part of the state, malaria control projects helped to solve the difficulties.

The tentative distribution of workers by fields of activities, as suggested in the "Manual of Work Division Procedure," was as follows: field of activity "A," five per cent; field of activity "B," forty per cent; field of activity "C," twenty-five per cent; field of activity "D," ten per cent; field of activity "E," ten per cent; field of activity "F," ten per cent. It was not always possible in every locality to keep this percentage between different types of projects because in some cases the relief rolls were composed mainly of common and construction laborers and in other places there was a large number of women on the relief rolls which necessitated carrying on a great many projects in the field of activity "D." Then too, the needs of the various communities and their willingness to coöperate had a bearing on the distribution of workers in the various fields of activity.

In North Carolina, the objective was to carry on work projects which would provide relief cases with an opportunity to do that type of work which they were best qualified to do rather than to arbitrarily set a limit on the number of workers that could be employed in any one field of activity.

An accurate check was kept in all local and district works divisions of the number of people at work, the probable length of their employment on the various projects, and projects were planned in such a way as to give continuous employment to relief cases.

All relief employees were certified for work by the Social Service Division. The social service investigation covered the age, physical condition, etc., of the client, and the Social Service Division, on the basis of conditions existing within the family, determined the employment priority ranking of the client. After the clients had been certified by the Social Service Division, they were turned over to the Works Division as eligible for employment on projects.

Certified clients were selected for work by the Works Division on the basis of their skill and their physical condition. Every client certified by the Social Service Division as eligible for employment was interviewed by the Works Division to determine his occupational history and the work for which he was qualified. On the basis of this investigation, the client was assigned to a project on which he could be employed at the type of work which he seemed from the investigation to be best qualified to do. Specific instructions were given to the district and local works divisions that actual performance on projects, as well as the investigation, should be the basis of determining the work clients were best qualified to perform, and that every effort should be made on the basis of the investigation and actual work to determine that type of work the client was best able to perform. Each Works Division maintained an index of the various types of workers as determined by investigation and performance on the job, and every project submitted was checked against this index of workers to determine whether or not the various types of workers to be employed on the project could be secured from the relief rolls. Every project in North Carolina was judged first

(1) Negro school in Hoke County before being remodeled. (2) The same school as No. 1 after being remodeled under Governor's Office of Relief Program. First building in state to be completed from Federal Funds. (3) Landscaping and improving school grounds in Davie County under Governor's Office of Relief Program. (4) Gymnasium built at Woodleaf School, Rowan County, under Governor's Office of Relief Program. (5) Interior of Community House built in Granville County under Governor's Office of Relief. (6) Checking marker on Geodetic Survey project under Governor's Office of Relief.

on its ability to furnish employment for relief clients. If, for instance, a large number of carpenters, painters, brick layers and other skilled construction workers was available from the relief rolls, construction projects providing employment for those workers were initiated; if a small number of skilled workers was available, small construction or a project, such as school repair, was initiated to provide employment. If, in a particular county, the relief rolls were made up mainly of common laborers, projects such as road building, malaria control, grading of athletic fields, etc., were the projects initiated. In those cases where there was a large number of clerical workers, typists, and stenographic workers on the relief rolls, projects were provided which would give these workers employment in their regular occupations.

While great emphasis was laid upon the fact that the primary purpose of the approval of any project was to provide employment which relief cases were best qualified to do, every effort was made to carry on worthwhile projects. The Works Division felt that it existed primarily to provide for clients work that they were qualified to do and that work relief was provided in order to maintain occupation skills, self-respect and to sustain morale. "Made Work," which did not fulfill the above requirements, was strictly prohibited as it had absolutely no advantage over direct relief.

Clients from discontinued or completed projects were not given any specific preference on new projects, although there was a natural tendency on the part of the Works Division to give preference to those clients who proved themselves to be the best workers. Efforts were made to train workers on the various projects to do better work or to train them to new occupations. In many instances, the sanitary privy projects were used for this purpose and a number of common laborers became qualified as semi-skilled workers on the basis of their training on projects of this type. Wherever possible, foremen and supervisory personnel were selected from relief rolls.

All assignments were based on the worker's ability and on various other conditions, such as the location of the project and the hours of work which the Social Service Division allotted the client. Employables with large families as a general rule were given more hours of employment by the Social Service Division than employables with small families or unmarried employables. Some workers would work out their entire monthly allotment in one week or in alternate weeks, especially if this procedure was necessitated by the conditions existing on or surrounding the project. From the standpoint of efficiency on the project, it was found that this method had distinct advantages, but from the standpoint of the client, and of his social problems, there were disadvantages.

Professional and non-manual workers were certified and selected for work on exactly the same basis as other relief workers, although non-manual and professional workers with large families were given some preference in assignment over employables with small families or unmarried employables. Those with large families were allotted a larger number of hours.

The highest standard of efficiency, both as to the quantity and quality of work was adhered to. Constant supervision in the field by Division Engineers and District and Local Project Supervisors did much to maintain high standards. On the whole, projects carried on by the Emergency Relief Administration were as well done as would have been the case had they been carried on by private contract, and, in a number of cases, were done better. The quantity of production and the quality of the work maintained by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration depended very largely on the efficiency of the supervision. Relief workers, if properly supervised, were quite capable of doing work of the same type as that in private practice. Almost invariably, where work was being carried on in a slip-shod fashion and where workers were doing a considerable amount of loafing, the fault was found to lie with the foreman and other supervisory personnel rather than with the workers. When such foremen were replaced with more efficient supervision, the fault was corrected.

The same standards of efficiency were applied to non-manual and professional workers. In

the case of employees of this type, the quality of the work and the amount of work done depended to a much greater extent on the workers themselves than on the supervision.

Efficiency on projects was promoted mainly by the use of good supervision and by instilling in the workers a pride in themselves and in their work. In rare instances, reductions in working hours were allowed for the completion of a specified amount of work without reductions in pay, but this was not followed as a general practice, since owing to the nature of the program, efficiency was not greatly promoted by this method. Piece work was carried on only in those instances where it was impossible to get the workers to central points. In these cases it was determined what number of pieces the average worker could turn out in the course of an hour, and the workers were paid on an hourly basis in proportion to the number of pieces that were turned out.

The worker given work relief instead of direct relief received about the same amount of money for work relief as would have been gotten under direct relief. The main advantages to the worker in work relief instead of direct relief are the opportunity to retain skill, opportunity to earn his subsistence rather than to have it doled out to him, with the resultant retention of self-respect and the prevention of the breakdown of morale. Numbers of relief clients in all sections of the state have pleaded that they be given work relief instead of direct relief, saying that they do not want to be given anything but wish to earn it. It is the firm conviction of the Works Division after two years or more of handling a work relief program that by far the greater number of relief cases prefer work relief to direct relief, and there is no question but that in a properly handled work program the worker derives far greater benefits by a work program than from a dole system. If the work projects are well planned and properly carried on, the workers, except for the fact that they are working on a restricted basis as far as hours are concerned, feel the same toward work relief projects as they do toward projects carried on by private interests. Unless, however, the work projects are worthwhile and are made to conform with high standards of workmanship and efficiency, much of the benefit of work relief is lost. Projects which are of a nature that prevent worthwhile and honest effort and good workmanship, if they are simply "made work," probably do more harm than good to the relief cases employed on them, and direct relief, being cheaper, had better be supplied.

Some relief cases employed on projects were dismissed from work relief for inefficiency, loafing on the job, causing friction, etc. In most of these cases it was still necessary to provide direct relief in commodities to the families of these workers since the families could not be allowed to suffer because of the faults of the working member of the family. In every case where employees were dismissed from work relief their families were given direct relief instead of cash.

Efficiency among professional and non-manual workers, such as typists, stenographers, clerical workers, etc., was gained more by promoting interest in the work and pride in accomplishment than by supervision. Non-manual workers employed on projects such as sewing rooms, etc., were given close supervision and the efficiency of these projects was in the main due to the supervision. Where dismissals were necessary among non-manual and professional workers, they were treated in the same manner as manual workers.

Projects carried on by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration were of many varied types. The policies of the Emergency Relief Administration demanded that these projects be of a public character and of economic and social benefit to the general public, or to publically owned institutions, or to the Relief Administration, and that the projects coördinate with comprehensive plans for local and state development and do not consist of small isolated jobs of doubtful or limited value. All projects were carried on by force account and not by contract. Projects covering regular municipal activities for which current budgets are provided, such as garbage collection, street

cleaning, etc., were strictly prohibited. Work projects for the improvement of hospitals, libraries, churches, cemeteries, institutions, etc., which are privately owned or incorporated, were forbidden.

The following classification of projects according to field of activity covers the types of projects undertaken by the Emergency Relief Administration:

A. PLANNING PROJECTS

1. Projects concerned with the planning and preparation of work projects, to be conducted under the supervision of the Works Division.

EMERGENCY WORK RELIEF PROGRAM OF THE NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY RELIEF ADMINISTRATION, APRIL 1, 1934 TO DECEMBER 5, 1935

NOTE--Black area represents the average for each month of the number of workers employed each week. The black plus the white area represents the maximum number employed in any one week of each month. The black area plus the white area plus the shaded area represents the number of relief cases employed on projects each month. The vertical bar chart of the number of workers employed does not include emergency education and administrative projects.

E. PUBLIC WELFARE, HEALTH AND RECREATION

F. PUBLIC EDUCATION, ARTS AND RESEARCH (Exclude Administrative and Planning projects)

1. Education.

2. Research and special surveys.

3. Public works for art.

4. Records and clerical work.

5. Music.

6. Dramatic activities.

7. Library and museum.

8. Any other.

G. ADMINISTRATIVE PROJECT

H. TOOL AND SUNDRY EQUIPMENT PROJECTS

PLANNING PROJECTS (A)

Comparatively few projects were carried on under this category, mainly because skilled designers, draftsmen, and other professional men were not available from the relief rolls. Then, too, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has followed a policy of requiring that the necessary plans and specifications be furnished by the sponsors. In some of the larger sections, however, projects of this nature were carried on. In Asheville, engineers, (No. 11B-A1-59) draftsmen, and clerical workers were used to prepare drawings, maps, and other data necessary in the preparation of projects. This project, No. 11B-A1-59, worked an average of five men for 3,652 man-hours.

PROJECTS ON ROADS, STREETS, BRIDGES, ETC. (B. 1, 2, 5, 6)

So much work has been done under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration on secondary dirt roads in North Carolina that it is extremely difficult to point to any one project as being more important than others. All the work done under the Emergency Relief Administration on the highways of the state has been done in coöperation with the Highway Department, and in every case such considerations as the amount of traffic the roads ordinarily carry, the number of people served and the general benefit to the community have been taken into account. In the western part of the state, road projects have proved especially valuable.

Under project No. 50-B2-16, in Jackson County, over one hundred miles of dirt roads have been improved and a number of miles of dirt roads have been constructed. In many cases these roads were mere trails that could carry traffic and afford outlet only during the best of weather. These roads have been widened, regraded and drained, and bad curves have been eliminated. Although handicapped by lack of equipment and transportation facilities, this project has been vigorously

(1) Bridge built in Wake County. (2) Bridge in Mooresville, Iredell County before work was undertaken. (3) The fill and culvert which replaced the bridge shown in No. 2. (4) Bridge built at Siler City, Chatham County. (5) Bridge across creek at school in Haywood County.

carried on and has added thousands of dollars to the value of property in the county and afforded families a chance to realize more profit by giving them easier access to market, as well as cutting their transportation costs. The rural schools in the county have been made much more accessible to the school children by the extension of school bus routes. The school children have been saved many miles of walking in bad weather.

This project is held to be responsible for greater civic and social activities in sections where such activities were fast dying out due to difficulties of communication and transportation. The value of this project to the people whom these roads serve can scarcely be overrated. Though not spectacular or particularly striking in appearance, projects similar to this have been of great basic value to the communities involved.

Average number of men employed, 195.

Number of man-hours expended, 73,623.

In Macon County, under project No. 56-B2-12, about one hundred and seven miles of dirt roads were improved. Several hundreds of families have reduced costs of transportation to market by one-half. Prior to the improvement of these roads by the Emergency Relief Administration, transportation costs for the sections involved amounted sometimes to twenty per cent of the value of the produce transported. As in the case of the Jackson County project, the work done under this project has been of inestimable value to the community.

Average number of men employed, 112.

Number of man-hours expended, 104,134.

As in the case of dirt roads, a great many miles of gravel roads have been built, repaired and improved by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. The gravel roads on which Emergency Relief Administration projects were carried on, as well as practically all other roads, were secondary roads. Since the value of the work done on the gravel roads means as much to one community as another, it is scarcely fair to say that any one project was more important than another.

In Alleghany County, project No. 3-B2-31 involved widening, grading and surfacing with crushed stone an important inter-highway link. The completion of this project completed an important net work in Alleghany County as well as furnishing relief for a heavy relief load in a somewhat isolated section. An average of fifteen to twenty workers was used each week preparing the roadway, crushing stone, loading and unloading the trucks and wagons which were furnished by local citizens.

This project is a fine example of the coöperation of local citizens in getting work done for the public benefit, and is typical of the spirit of the greater number of Emergency Relief Administration projects which have been carried on under the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina.

Average number of men employed, 23.

Number of man-hours expended, 5,642.

Very little work was done on macadam roads and highways outside of city limits since most of the macadam roads and highways are part of the State Highway primary system which is maintained with prison labor. A number of miles of macadam streets and roads within city limits, however, have been built, repaired and improved under the Emergency Relief Administration. From the point of view of the people benefited, one of the most important projects of this type is project No. 62-B2-5 in Mount Gilead, Montgomery County, a little town of about twelve hundred inhabitants. It was located in what was, after the World War, a fairly prosperous farm settlement, but which since that time has had little money for civic improvements. Streets in the business section of the town were paved about 1923, but in the residental sections there was

no pavement until the Emergency Relief Administration approved a project for this purpose. The streets in the residental section were graded and surfaced and provided the inhabitants with mudless streets; a luxury they had given up hope of ever enjoying. Besides the benefits afforded the residents, employment was given to about one hundred and fifty work relief cases and a total of 4,336 man-hours was expended.

As in the case of macadam roads, concrete highways and roads are a part of the state's primary highway system and practically all the work done under projects of this nature was done within city limits.

Again, judging the importance of a project in terms of benefit to those affected, project No. 61-B1-4, for the construction of streets in Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, is outstanding. In this little mountain village practically the only paved streets were those on which the State Highway went through the town. All the residents of Spruce Pine and the city officials have been extremely grateful for the work done under this project and have stated repeatedly that this job was done better and cheaper than would have been the case had it been let to private contract. The construction difficulties involved were much greater than those ordinarily met, owing to existing conditions.

An average of twenty-five men was employed daily on this project. 36,758 man-hours were expended. The project included and completed 3,243 feet of 16-foot width concrete, 180 feet of 10-foot width concrete, 2,780 feet of 6-foot shoulders, 1,746 feet of curb and gutter, 1,610 feet of 4-foot width sidewalk, 450 feet of 5-foot width sidewalk, and 12,580 square yards of other streets were improved by addition of sand, gravel and stone.

Under project No. 25-B2-52, in Bridgeton, in Craven County, the main street of Bridgeton was repaired and paved with brick that had been discarded from county roads. The entire work was done by hand, using an average of about ten workers, and a total of three thousand man-hours. As in the case of many small communities, this project is one in which the community takes great pride.

One of the most important sidewalk projects carried on under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was project No. 42-B1-1, in Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, North Carolina, a town of about twelve thousand people. Most of the population of this town earns its livelihood by working in the many cotton mills in this vicinity. The homes in which the families live are typical mill village houses, and the streets, prior to the carrying on of this project, had no improvements. Ten miles of five-foot concrete sidewalks have been built in Roanoke Rapids under this project. The town of Roanoke Rapids is to be highly complimented for its coöperation in furnishing material and equipment hire for this project, and to this coöperation is particularly due the success of the project. The improved appearance of the town can scarcely be described in words. The replacement of dusty and muddy streets, with no provision for pedestrian traffic, by concrete sidewalks, is a permanent improvement of lasting benefit to the inhabitants of Roanoke Rapids.

Number of men employed, 65.

Number of man-hours expended, 51,740.

A number of small highway bridges were constructed or repaired as part of road improvement projects, but none perhaps have served such a useful purpose as the New Inlet bridge built in Dare County under project No. 28-B5-1. This bridge has been built over an inlet cut in the sand banks by the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound and is the most important of the bridges built over several inlets under this project, from Hatteras to Oregon Inlet. The natives of this section travel by automobile over the sands especially at low tide and the only connection by this means of travel with the main land is cut off unless the inlets are bridged. While it is sometimes

possible for inland travelers to follow another route or to find fords, this is not possible along the coastal banks. This project has been the means of keeping these people connected with the mainland.

Number of men employed, 39.

Number of man-hours expended, 15,000.

One of the most important projects for the construction of culverts is project No. 36-B7-5, Gaston County, transferred from the Civil Works Administration. Under this project, a 7 × 7-foot reinforced concrete culvert four feet long has been built. Completion of this project has eliminated a health hazard that existed in this section of Gastonia for many years.

No outstanding projects were carried on under this category. All of the grade crossing work done in this state was of a minor nature and was carried on under the various road and street improvement projects.

SUMMARY

Total miles of road constructed, 309.01; improved, 1,270.74; repaired, 446.11.

PUBLIC BUILDING PROJECTS (B. 3, 4)

Among the important schoolhouses constructed as Emergency Relief Administration projects is the high school building in the town of West Jefferson, in Ashe County, built under project No. 5-B3-10. This project will furnish sixteen large classrooms and an auditorium with a seating capacity of approximately six hundred persons. This two-story brick building will furnish facilities for about five hundred pupils from the town of West Jefferson and adjoining sections of Ashe County.

At the time this project was started, the town of West Jefferson had a small building, poorly constructed and condemned as unfit for school purposes by the State Board of Education. Without the help of the Emergency Relief Administration this school could never have been built. This project furnished employment to an average of forty-three men, and about 32,516 man-hours were used on the project.

(1) Colored school built in Greene County. (2) Additions and repairs to Rock School in Burke County. (3) Library and gymnasium at the Appalachian State Teachers' College in Watauga County built with State and ERA funds. (4) Cove Creek School in Haywood County. (5) Jefferson High School, Ashe County. (6) West Jefferson High School, Ashe County: Second floor rebuilt, entire building remodeled.

Another important project of this type is project No. 17-B3-16 for the construction of a thirteen-room brick school in Milton Township, of Caswell County. This project, located in that section of the county having the heaviest case load, provided employment for all of the skilled relief clients in that section. All the material for the building was furnished by the county, and an abandoned tobacco factory close to the project was demolished to provide much of the necessary material. This project, which has relieved a congested condition in the schools, has used about forty men who have worked more than 49,886 hours on the project.

Although not nearly so imposing as some of the larger schools constructed, the small school-house, project No. 44-B3-23, built in the Big Bend Section, or the "Lost Province" of Haywood County, as it is called, is in its way as important a school as has been built under the Emergency Relief Administration. The school was built by the ERA from material salvaged from an old lumber company office building.

The Big Bend community is made up of twelve families marooned in an inaccessible part of the county. To reach this community, it is necessary to walk twelve miles after going as far as possible in a car. Not even a mule can go up the trail. Since the trestle of the old lumber railroad washed out the pedestrian has to let himself down from rock to rock by hanging on to roots and shrubs until he reaches the stream, then cross by rocks, if the stream is low, and pull himself up the other side by roots and shrubs. This is the only way ERA case workers could reach these families.

There is no other school within a radius of nine miles and this building is the first school in this section in eighteen or twenty years. There is now a full time school teacher and approximately twenty-five children in attendance at the school.

Average number of men worked, 8.

Number of man-hours expended, 1,136.

School repair and improvement projects of one sort or another have been carried on in every county in North Carolina. Under these projects millions of dollars of improvements have been made. Among the outstanding projects of this sort is project No. 1-B4-2, for the repair and renovation of four large schools in the city of Burlington, Alamance County. Fifteen new classrooms were added to these buildings by converting part of the auditoriums into classrooms. From twenty-five to fifty men were employed on the project and about fifteen thousand man-hours were used. The addition of the new classrooms to the schools has relieved a very congested situation and general renovation has made the buildings much less susceptible to deterioration.

In Wayne County, fifty school buildings were repaired under project No. 96A-B4-8. Fifteen of these schools were for white children and thirty-five for colored. Materials transferred partly from the CWA and furnished partly by the county school authorities, including 49,980 pounds of asphalt; twenty-two tons of plaster; 750 gallons of paints; 8,000 feet of ceiling; 21,000 feet of flooring; sixty-five doors; 138 sashes; five hundred pounds of nails; 13,000 feet of lumber; as well as a large quantity of miscellaneous hardware and materials. An average of thirty-five men have worked, 10,568 hours on this project.

(1) Classroom building at Negro Training School, Gates County. (2) Wing added to school in Pitt County. (3) Colored school built with ERA labor and local funds in Rocky Mount, Nash County. (4) Milton-Semora School built in Caswell County with local funds and relief labor.

(1) Foreman's house at soil erosion farm, Iredell County, before renovation. (2) Foreman's house at soil erosion farm, Iredell County after CWA and ERA repairs and renovation. (3) Painting in Carteret County Courthouse. Note difference between painted section and existing section. (4) Tubercular cottages built in Wayne County.

The county superintendent of schools, in a letter to the Emergency Relief Administration, says: "I am positive that more benefit has been received from this project and more careful work done than on any preceding one. In order to be convinced of this, it is necessary only to visit the schools and talk to the principals and teachers." ". . . from the evidence that I can gather, the state of repair is far superior to that existing at any time during the past six or eight years."

This school repair project is typical of the accomplishments of many projects in many other counties, and the attitude of this county superintendent is that of many other county superintendents whose buildings have been greatly improved through relief projects.

One of the most important courthouse repair projects completed by the Emergency Relief Administration was project No. 68-B4-3, approved for the renovation of the courthouse at Hillsboro, Orange County, North Carolina. This old courthouse, built in 1844-1849, is one of the most charming examples of courthouse architecture in the state. The old stone jail and town building, which was located on the courthouse property, was torn down so that a proper setting could be provided for the courthouse. The demolition of the old jail was followed with much interest as it was rumored that the ancient hanging pit would be brought to light--but no trace of it was found.

The walls of the old jail, which were thirty-two inches thick, made of flagstone laid in clay, provided the material for all the flagstone sidewalks built on the square.

The restoration of this courthouse was carefully supervised so that all the work and the colonial characteristics of the building might be preserved.

Another courthouse repair and restoration project was project No. 16-B4-73, approved for repairing and restoring the courthouse in Beaufort, Carteret County, North Carolina. Until work was begun under this project, no major repairs had been made on the courthouse for many years owing to the financial condition of the county. The fourteen men employed have spent 7,238 hours building a new roof; plastering and repairing the plaster in the interior of the courthouse; cleaning, painting and renovating the wood work, furniture and fixtures, as well as repairing and painting the exterior of the building.

Under project No. 63-B3-26, Moore County, a school bus garage, 85 × 150 feet, has been completed to house the county school buses and to provide a repair shop. All the materials for this project were furnished locally.

Average number of men employed, 25.

Number of man-hours expended, 7,259.

In Winston-Salem all the fire stations have been painted and repaired under project No. 34-B4-28. The work done involved painting the exterior of the buildings, inside walls, bedrooms, stairways, as well as general repairs. We have been informed that it is very interesting to note the change in the men who live in the fire stations as a result of the repair work. Their work is now carried on more efficiently than it was before repairs were started.

Average number of men employed, 21.

Number of man-hours expended, 6,008.

Under project No. 11B-B4-24, the Biltmore fire station, just out of Asheville, Buncombe County, was completely renovated. The truck room has been enlarged to accommodate two trucks, the living quarters for the firemen have been replastered and redecorated, and the old and unsanitary plumbing has been brought up to date. These improvements were much needed to bring this fire station up to date and provide adequate quarters for the firemen.

(1) New Bern Library, Craven County, before remodeling. (2) New Bern Library, Craven County, after being remodeled and repaired by ERA. (3) Hillsboro Confederate Memorial Public Library built under CWA and ERA, Orange County.

In Graham County a number of school bus shelters have been built throughout the county. These shelters, which are of log construction, provide shelter for school children while they are waiting for school buses.

In Winston-Salem, an abandoned two-story school building with sixteen classrooms and an auditorium, and approximately 150 by 150 feet large had stood idle for several years. This building has been remodeled and developed into an armory under ERA project No. 34B-B4-41. The rear portion of the old school building was partially torn down and rebuilt to be used as a drill hall, assembly room and for recreational purposes. This drill hall, sixty feet wide and one hundred ten feet long, has been covered with new built-up roofing, supported by new steel trusses and floored with maple. The front portion has been remodeled to provide for lockers, supply and orderly rooms, officers' quarters, mess hall and club rooms. In the basement, showers, locker rooms and a small-bore rifle range has been built.

An entirely new electric lighting system, including flood lights for the drill field, has been installed. The building has been painted inside and out and the drill grounds have been graded and fenced.

Average number of men employed, 31.

Number of man-hours expended, 45,065.

Under project No. 86-B4-71, the Surry County jail has been converted from a fire trap into a modern jail. The county had for several years been desirous of repairing the jail, but lack of funds had prevented the work being undertaken. When the work contemplated is completed, Surry County will have a fire-proof modern jail.

Average number of men employed, 20.

Number of man-hours expended, 7,864.

The Forsyth County jail project No. 34-B4-69 was badly needed to eradicate over-crowded, unsanitary conditions. The work included cleaning old plaster from the walls, replastering and painting inside and out; repairing cells; building cells for insane inmates; and installing shower baths to replace tubs.

Average number of men employed, 23.

Number of man-hours expended, 5,299.

Under project No. 96-B3-63, cottages have been built for public welfare cases in Wayne County who are affected with tuberculosis. Materials for this work were donated by local organizations and individuals. These cottages, which provide for only one person, are movable so that they may be placed where the patient has available a greater supply of fresh air and sunshine. Much interest has been manifested in these cottages by other sections of the state and it is expected that several counties will build similar cottages with their own funds.

An average of four men worked for a total of 1,433 hours on this project.

The Caswell Training School, a state-owned institution for mentally deficient children located in Lenoir County, has been completely renovated as a result of Emergency Relief Administration activities, Nos. S54-B4-9 and S54-B4-10. Under these projects for general repairs to the buildings, fourteen buildings were repaired and painted. Brick work, woodwork, plastering and roofs were put in first class condition. A reservoir having a capacity of 130,000 gallons, and a silo fourteen feet in diameter, were erected. A wading pool was provided for the unfortunate inmates.

(1) Walkway connecting hospital and nurses' home, Winston-Salem. (2) Community theater building built in Macon County. (3) Hospital built at Appalachian State Teachers' College, Watauga County, with CWA and State funds. (4) Fire station built at Pinehurst in Moore County. (5) City Hall and fire station built at Lillington, Harnett County. (6) Warehouse remodeled for District ERA offices, Statesville, Iredell County. (7) Isolation ward at Goldsboro, North Carolina.

In Pinehurst, Moore County, project No. 63-B4-5, transferred from the Civil Works Administration, has provided a combination city hall, fire station and public hall. An old community building was remodeled under this project to provide more adequate municipal facilities.

Average number of men employed, 35.

Number of man-hours expended, 10,110.

Almost every ERA district and local office has been repaired and painted either as public property projects or for repairs in lieu of rent. Under project No. 49-B4-47, in Iredell County a two-story brick warehouse, 80 × 30 feet, was improved to form a modern office building which housed the District Emergency Relief Administration. The site and the building were purchased for this purpose by Iredell County. The previous district office quarters were totally inadequate and this project made possible much greater efficiency as well as providing an important addition to the Iredell County courthouse quarters. An average of twenty-five men spent 6,918 hours in remodeling this building.

In Craven County, the District ERA offices, under project No. 25-B4-53, were constructed from a large storeroom on the second floor of an uptown building. Materials were furnished partly by the county and partly by the Emergency Relief Administration. An average of twenty-four workers working 4,390 hours converted this store space into nine private offices, one large office, two large halls and two rest rooms.

The Washington County Home Project No. 94-B3-27 is one of the most important Emergency Relief Administration projects in that section of the state. The existing buildings were scarcely fit to live in, and the completion of this project provided a modern county home for the less fortunate people of the county. This project was built in exchange for a gift of some fifteen thousand acres of land by the county to the Emergency Relief Administration.

Average number of men employed, 45.

Number of man-hours expended, 31,000.

SUMMARY

Number of schoolhouses:

Capacity 1-50: constructed, 19; improved, 108; repaired, 215.

Capacity 51-500: constructed, 35; improved, 234; repaired, 405.

Capacity over 500: constructed, 7; improved, 88; repaired, 138.

Number of small courthouses constructed, none; improved, 6; repaired, 7.

Number of large courthouses constructed, none; improved, 13; repaired, 10.

(1) Addition to school in Wilson County. (2) Community House built in Wayne County. (3) Gymnasium built in Granville County. (4) Work shop built at Bethel Hill High School, Person County. (5) Gymnasium built in Washington County. (6) Washington County Home built under CWA and ERA.

Number of other public buildings constructed, 51; improved, 54; repaired, 107.

SEWERS, DRAINAGE, AND PUBLIC UTILITY PROJECTS (B. 7, 8, 9, 10)

While many miles of sewers have been constructed and repaired in the larger towns and cities of the state, it is the smaller towns that are most grateful for sanitary sewers that have been built as ERA projects. It is the opinion of many that even though the sewer work done in the larger towns is important, that done in the smaller towns is more important.

In the town of Columbia, in Tyrrell County, for instance, under project No. 89-B7-9, a sewer has been built which will serve over one thousand people. Since sanitary sewers were non-existent in this town until they were built under this project, the project will be the means of doing more to improve health and sanitation than any other project that could have been undertaken, and for the first time Columbia is in a position to improve its sanitary conditions and combat disease.

Number of men worked, 33.

Number of man-hours expended, 22,031.

In Elizabethtown, Bladen County, under project No. 9-B7-20, a complete sewerage system was completed. This project was started under CWA. As the town of Elizabethtown had just installed their water system under private contract, this project completion afforded this community the privilege of modern sanitation. The construction included the installation of 2,000 feet of 12-inch pipe, 10,800 feet of 8-inch pipe, 9,500 feet of 6-inch pipe, 70 manholes, and other work.

Number of men worked, 62.

Number of man-hours expended, 34,569.

In Faison, Duplin County, there have been built 15,300 feet of sewers and one sewer disposal plant under project No. 31-B7-12, using an average of ninety-three men and a total of 28,905 man-hours.

In order to make these sewers usable, the town has constructed a water system under private contract. In several cases such as this, where small towns without sewers had the funds to build either a water or sewer system, but not both, the Emergency Relief Administration projects have made it possible to provide modern sewer and water facilities.

Project No. 90-B7-14, one of the major projects of Union County, affects the entire city of Monroe. The sewer line constructed in Monroe under this project is laid in a thickly populated section of the city whose only sanitary facilities were privies. The excavation for this project was very heavy, being eighteen feet deep in places and through hard slate rock. A tunnel sixty feet long under a railroad track also provided difficulties. Under this project, approximately of 150 men working 118,271 hours laid 4½ miles of sewer pipe and built 79 manholes.

The Bonner Street storm sewer, built under project No. 7-B7-14, in Washington, Beaufort

County, North Carolina, has corrected a very unsightly and unsanitary condition. An open ditch about a mile and one-half long ran down Bonner Street in front of residences making it impossible to have sidewalks on that side of the street. To correct this condition, forms were built and a thirty-six inch concrete pipe, reinforced with hog wire, was poured at the site. Special equipment was constructed to place the pipe in the ditch, and at all street intersections concrete drip inlets were constructed to take care of the waste and water. This work has greatly improved a residental section of the city as well as provided work for an average of twelve men for 4,000 man-hours.

In Winston-Salem, ninety-three storm sewers, 34B-B8-7, have been constructed and 109 repaired. This work has been very helpful since it has improved sanitary conditions for which local funds were not available.

Average number of men worked, 30.

Number of man-hours expended, 43,849.

The drainage program has been carried on under the supervision of the North Carolina State Board of Health, coöperating with the United States Public Health Service. Practically all the work has consisted of the drainage of swamps, ponds, and other breeding areas of the malarial vector (carrier) thereby removing the source of malaria transmission from the centers of population. . . . The mortality records show that the counties participating in such programs have experienced a decrease of 16½ per cent in deaths from malaria since the program was started in 1933. This leads one to believe that the work completed thus far is effective and well worth the investment of relief funds.

The greater part of this work was and is being carried on in the eastern part of the state where malaria is prevalent. This disease in certain sections amounts to a millstone around the necks of the communities affected. The control of this disease does much to improve the communities affected socially, economically, and physically. Public recognition of the value of this work may be found in an editorial published in the Raleigh News and Observer, June 30, 1935. The editorial follows:

"Last year at this time, Edenton's Mayor reports, his town had 452 cases of malaria. This year it has only 2. Last year at the end of June the community had several billion mosquitoes swarming around. This year the mosquito is down and out.

"Full credit is given to the ERA workers who in the past year dug ditches and drained bogs and mudflats. This improvement, which was wrought within a year, is worth more than a passing note. There was a time when Eastern North Carolina had a high percentage of malarial ills, and strangers were inclined to avoid it in the summer time. But a stricter cleanliness and an improved sanitation have in recent years entirely altered this picture. The results of the ERA work around Edenton show that it is possible to erase from North Carolina the last of its malarial areas.

"Criticism of ERA and other relief agencies has been vociferous, especially among those persons who have needed no relief themselves and never extended any to a fellow being. And, in fact, some defects in will and deed, were, in the face of such a large task, only to be expected. But here is a case in which the ERA has more than justified itself. The conclusion must be that if government-supported agencies could wipe out all the infected spots in the country, the nation could well afford to foot the bill, high though it might be. For prevalent good health, and the energy that flows from it, can, within a year or two, restore the balance to any temporarily weakened budget. Weakened budgets do not matter. But weakened men do."

In spite of the fact that most of the malaria control work carried on in North Carolina is in the eastern part of the state, one of the most outstanding projects is the malaria control project carried on in Iredell and Rowan counties, in the central part of the state. It has been reported that the

(1) A typical ponded swamp in Robeson County in vicinity of densely populated section. A malaria blood slide survey showed a higher positive reaction than any other place in North Carolina. (2) Ponds paralleling Fourth Creek before drainage, Iredell County. (3) Channel after drainage, Fourth Creek, Iredell County. (4) The same swamp as No. 1 after drainage. One year after completion, malaria decreased over, 60 per cent.

incidence of malaria is heaver here than in any other place in the United States. Many acres of rich farm land lie idle or are farmed only intermittently because of the multitudes of malaria mosquitoes that infest this area and infect the population. This condition can be corrected only if the area involved is properly drained so that the hundreds of ponds and pools of stagnant water are eliminated.

The waterways being drained are Second, Third, and Fourth Creeks and their tributaries, all of which drain into the Yadkin River. Efforts have in the past been made by one county or the other to carry on this work but these efforts have fallen short of fulfillment because there was no coördinated effort on the part of both counties. Since all of these creeks flow through both counties, only by treating the projects in the counties as one problem can the project as a whole be successful.

In Iredell County, the work involves dredging approximately 275,000 cubic yards on 8 miles of Third Creek, and dredging approximately 500,000 cubic yards on some 14 miles of Fourth Creek by dragline and dredgeboat. In Rowan County, right-of-way and dredging must be carried on along 10 miles of Third Creek and 7 miles of Fourth Creek. On Second Creek a new channel must be cut for 7½ miles, and 45 miles of old channel must be recut on the tributaries of Second Creek.

In each county there have been set up drainage districts covering all the areas in which work is to be done. The counties have raised, and will continue to raise funds by means of a special acreage tax levied on those through whose lands the project runs and who will be benefited. The Emergency Relief Administration with its relief clients has built wooden barges for the floating dredges, and these are now in operation.

The United States Public Health authorities and the North Carolina State Board of Health authorities have given much thought to this project and have coöperated with the Works Division of the Emergency Relief Administration in every way. It is the opinion of these authorities, as well as of the County Health officials and the people of Rowan and Iredell counties, that no more beneficial project could be carried on than this.

Projects Involved Are

Average No. Men Employed

No. Man-hours Expended

Iredell:

49-B17-76

94

20,740

49-B17-90

108

6,144

49-B17-58

8

3,689

49-B17-56

194

33,391

49-B17-14

43

61,858

Rowan:

80-B17-4

72

11,551

80-B17-3

74

44,639

80-B17-51

97

11,681

In addition to supervising projects, the malaria control division has aided very materially in other ways. It has set about to reorganize drainage districts which have long since passed into oblivion and left their canals as permanent hazards to existence. It has made many sections in North Carolina malaria-conscious and has further assisted by distributing literature and by delivering frequent lectures and radio talks on the subject. A serious effort to educate the inhabitants of infested areas in the ways and means of protecting themselves from malarial fever has been an extra duty of those employed to help with this program. It is believed that if opportunity is provided

for the continuation of this work and allowance is made for the completion of all the drainage projects deemed necessary by those in a position to judge such matters, this state may expect enormous returns, both socially and economically, from its drainage for malaria control.

Following is given a summary of drainage activities under CWA and ERA:

CWA

December 1, 1933-March 31, 1934--

Number of counties engaged in malaria control activities, 54.

Total number malaria control projects started, 392.

Number of malaria control projects benefiting cities, 132.

Number of malaria control projects benefiting rural communities, 268.

Maximum number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 6,200.

Average number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 4,740.

Number miles canal and ditches either excavated or cleaned out under supervision of Malaria Control Division, 566.

Number new ditches excavated, 1,390.

Number of ponds drained, 969.

Total number acres ponds drained, 2,972.

Total acres swamp land drained or given outlet, 93,278.

Total number draglines used, 9.

A summary of the results obtained from the ERA drainage for Malaria Control program is as follows:

ERA April 14, 1934-December 1, 1935--

Number of counties engaged in malaria control activities, 56.

Total number malaria control projects approved, 439.

Number projects affecting cities, 155.

Projects affecting both Rural and Urban Population, 21.

Number projects affecting rural communities, 263.

Maximum number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 5,030.

Average number laborers engaged in malaria control one week, 2,819.

Number miles canal and ditches either excavated or cleaned out under supervision of Malaria Control Division, 954.

Many communities in North Carolina have been aided by additions to their water systems or by the complete installation of an entirely new water system. It is always difficult to say which class of projects are most important, but certainly those projects which improve sanitary conditions are well at the head of the list. The addition of modern water and sewer facilities certainly adds not only to the convenience of those affected, but also improves social and economic conditions.

One of the most important projects involving laying of water mains carried on under the Emergency Relief Administration is project No. 32-B9-42 in Durham. This project is an excellent example of the type of work that can be accomplished when municipalities and counties coöperate with the Emergency Relief Administration. Such coöperation is the result of a good deal of promotional work on the part of the Emergency Relief Administration and can be obtained only when the community fully realizes that the Emergency Relief Administration funds may be expended only for labor, and that materials must be furnished locally. Realization of this fundamental policy comes to a community only when such a program has been in operation for some time and not when work relief appears to be built on the shifting sands of a dozen conflicting policies.

On this project the city of Durham furnished $42,000 worth of materials and almost $4,000 worth of labor and supervision. One hundred fifty tons of cast iron pipe were furnished by the city of Durham, and laid by relief labor.

Average number of men employed, 100.

Number of man-hours expended, 42,518.

Although miles of electric and gas conduits are listed under this classification, the number of miles indicated refers to rural electrification lines built. Three projects of rural electrification lines in the counties of Orange, Wilson and Hoke were completed. The first of these projects to be built and completed with Emergency Relief Administration funds was that built in Orange County under No. 68-B9-41. Much interest has been manifested in Orange County over Rural Electrification, since the Civil Works Administration completed a project of this sort in the county. On the basis of information gathered from the state-wide Rural Electrification Survey, a section of Orange County was selected for this Emergency Relief Administration project. A meeting was held in the community which was attended by several hundred people among whom were representatives from not only those communities affected, but others as well. As a result of this meeting, after which the local citizens agreed to furnish a substantial part of the cost of the project, work was begun, 11.2 miles of the project has been completed. These Rural Electrification projects are undoubtedly very important and add to rural communities one of the prime necessities of modern life. They are not, however, especially good work relief projects since they involve a maximum of materials, and skilled, non-relief labor and a minimum of relief labor. If the projects can be worked out on some self-liquidating basis, they should prove quite feasible.

Average number of men employed, 64.

Number of man-hours expended, 13,534.

All of the pumping stations constructed with Emergency Relief Administration funds were constructed as part of regular water projects and none of them were very large.

Among the filtration plants improved was a city filter plant and pumping station in Raleigh repaired and reconditioned under project No. 92B-B10-67. The work done included repairing and reconditioning of filter and filtration equipment, the repair of all concrete structures including the reservoirs and settling basins. This work was badly needed, and as was the case with most municipalities, funds were not available to carry on the work. An average of 15 men worked 9,636 hours to complete this project.

(1) Water tower built as part of municipal water system at Wadesboro, Anson County. (2) Dam built at Apex, Wake County. (3) Retaining wall built at Game Farm, Durham County. (4) Reservoir built at Marshall, Madison County. (5) Chlorinator house built at Marshall, Madison County. (6) Empounding dam at Wadesboro, Anson County.

Yanceyville, county seat of Caswell County, one of the very few unincorporated county seats in the state, has no sanitary sewer system. As a result of this, the sanitary conditions in the county courthouse and jail have been deplorable. To correct this condition, a small sewage disposal plant has been built as an Emergency Relief Administration project to serve the county courthouse and jail. This project, together with one for repairing and renovating the courthouse has given the people and the officials of the county a new pride in their public buildings. It is difficult to describe with words the benefits that such projects as these provide since the improvements are helpful not only in visible accomplishments but also in a changed mental attitude and outlook on the part of the individuals whom the project benefits. The Works Division of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has of course constantly endeavored to promote and carry on projects whose physical results will be beneficial to the various communities. It has also been the aim of the Works Division through these projects to promote in the various communities of the state, through the projects carried on, a better mode of living, a better social attitude, and an increased pride in the community on the part of the people who live in the community. It seems at times that such ideals are more easily accomplished by the example of a completed project than by years of preaching and lecturing.

Average number of men employed, 21.

Number of man-hours expended, 6,848.

Among the projects completed under this head is project No. 54-B9-32. This project was approved for erecting a tank and tower at the State Farm Colony for Delinquent Girls and Women. Prior to the completion of this project, the water system at this institution was so inadequate that proper sanitary facilities could not be provided and the shortage of water greatly increased the fire hazard. The materials purchased by the Civil Works Administration were used to erect a 72-foot tower and 5,500-gallon tank. As is the case with many Emergency Relief Administration projects, the physical benefits are great, but the other benefits, such as better discipline, are just as important. In the city of Fayetteville in Cumberland County, a storage basin was built under project No. 26-B10-32. The work involved clearing 60 acres of land, rebuilding an old mill dam so that the present 8-foot head would be increased to 18 feet. The new earth-fill dam has a base of 810 feet, a crown of 30 feet, and a 33-foot spillway.

With the coöperation of the North Carolina State Board of Health, the Emergency Relief Administration has improved the sanitary conditions in many of the rural schools, by building septic tanks. One of the most important of these is that installed in the Glen Alpine School unit in Burke County. Under this project a septic tank, 25 × 26 × 10 feet, and a filter bed, 41 × 100 feet, and 3,000 feet of connecting ditches, 2 to 8 feet deep, were built. The sanitary conditions, which prior to the completion of this work had been far from desirable, are now in strict accordance with the requirements of the State Board of Health.

The health authorities discovered that the South Mill High School in Camden County had sanitary conditions which they stamped as deplorable. Sufficient funds were not available to correct this condition, but with the help of the Emergency Relief Administration the problem was solved. For this project, No. 15-B7-25, the county furnished all necessary materials and with these materials Emergency Relief Administration labor constructed a concrete septic tank and laid 3,000

feet of 4-inch pipe. This is an example of the way the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina has improved sanitary conditions for the school children of the state.

Average number of men employed, 14.

Number of man-hours expended, 2,314.

No more important work can be done to provide rural population and others, for whom sewerage facilities are not available, with adequate sanitary facilities than as was done through the sanitary privy program. The United States Public Health Service agrees that the sanitary privy as constructed in North Carolina is the next best thing to modern plumbing arrangements. The North Carolina State Board of Health has devoted much time to properly planning a sanitary privy that reduces health hazard to a minimum, and all the privies built in North Carolina have been built under ERA projects in accordance with the plans and specifications of the State Board of Health. In almost ninety of North Carolina's 100 counties, community sanitation through the construction of sanitary privies has been carried on as Emergency Relief Administration projects. It would be unfair, considering case loads and various other factors, to say that any one county put on a better program than the others. In Columbus County, however, the sanitary privy project has received more local attention than in many other places. To prove the fact that adequate rural sanitation has an immediate economic value in Columbus County, many strawberries are raised in this county, and several years ago the sanitary conditions in this rural area were so terrible that the health authorities came very near to condemning the entire crop in many sections of the county as being unfit for human consumption. Through the activities of the Civil Works Administration and the Emergency Relief Administration in building sanitary privies, this condition has been corrected.

Average number of men employed, 6.

Number of man-hours expended, 1,037.

Under the projects for removing car tracks, is project No. 13-B1-14 in Concord, county seat of Cabarrus County. The section of South Union Street from which the car track was removed was in very bad condition before this project was completed. The car tracks and the old brick pavement have been removed and replaced with concrete pavement. The appearance, usefulness, and safety of this street have been greatly increased. An average of 14 men worked 1,827 man-hours in removing these tracks.

In the drought cattle program two abattoirs were constructed, at Hamlet and New Bern. Modern plants and equipment were installed to conform to the high standards of sanitation set up by the Health Department. The output of the above abattoirs was 100 cattle per eight hours. Continuous shifts were operated using approximately 90 per cent relief labor. Various plants of refrigeration were necessary in this operation and were utilized. Dressed meat was forwarded from these plants to canneries, storage plants, and distributed as surplus commodities. The hides were preserved for the operation of the Emergency Relief Administration tannery at Old Fort, N. C.

Average number of men employed, 217.

Number of man-hours expended, 55,446.

At Greensboro, Raleigh, Asheville, and Charlotte, local abattoirs were remodeled or repaired and were used by the Emergency Relief Administration in the slaughter of the drought cattle.

Number of miles of car tracks removed or otherwise disposed of, 16.83.

Acres ponds drained, 3,063.

Acres swamp land drained, 25,044.

CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES (B. 11, 12)

Under project No. 92-B11-154 at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering, the stadium at Riddick Field was completed. The old concrete and wooden stands of the West Side were dismantled and replaced with modern construction in replica of the new stadium on the East Side. The construction consisted of approximately 1,200 cubic yards of reënforced concrete, cypress seats, press box, modern amplifying system, toilets and entrances. This construction was completed in the short time of thirty-eight and one-half working days. At times three shifts were employed per day and as high as 400 men were employed daily. This project was made possible by the coöperation of the college and alumni in furnishing of 85 per cent of materials. In this construction, 107,561 man-hours were used with an average of 262 men per day. The stadium constructed has a seating capacity of 7,900 people and gives this institution a modern football facility capable of handling with safety the crowds at such contests of 16,000 peoples.

This modern stadium, the construction of which is now completed provides for increased attendance at State College games, and will doubtless prove a drawing card for other front rank athletic exhibitions. Work on this stadium was part of the comprehensive effort of the ERA to provide permanent recreational facilities, well-constructed and meeting the highest engineering requirements.

Under project No. 92A-B11-5, certain materials were transferred from the Civil Works Administration. A concrete grandstand was constructed at the North Carolina State Fair Grounds with an average of 50 men working 10,976½ hours. Additional seating capacity was sorely needed to provide adequate space for the spectators during the various events at this annual fair. The grandstand has a seating capacity of 3,600 and increases the seating capacity of the fair about 40 per cent.

(1) Concrete bleachers at State College Stadium, Raleigh, Wake County, under construction, August 20, 1935. (2) Concrete bleachers at State College Stadium, Raleigh, Wake County, under construction, August 24, 1935. (3) Concrete bleachers at State College Stadium, completed October 10, 1935. (4) Air view of State College Stadium. Right-hand stands constructed with sponsor's funds and relief labor.

A wooden grandstand for the Concord High School was built under project No. 13-B11-69. This high school, before the grandstand was built by the Emergency Relief Administration, was entirely without seating facilities for spectators, the existing grandstand having been condemned. The grandstand, built of wood, has a seating capacity of 1,250, being equipped with dressing rooms, 4 showers, 2 rest rooms and 2 ticket offices. Under this same project, the athletic field was brought to a uniform grade, and in doing this, about 12,000 cubic yards of earth were moved. In building the athletic field and the grandstand, 55 men were used for 55,570 man-hours.

At the North Carolina College for Negroes, a wood grandstand seating approximately 1,000 persons was built with materials furnished by the College. The project under which this was built, No. S32-B11-23-C, also involved construction of an athletic field. Until this project was completed, recreational facilities at the college were entirely inadequate. The construction was somewhat unusual in that cedar posts from an old fence were buried in the ground and used for supports for the cypress plank seating.

Average number of men employed, 75.

Number of man-hours expended, 64,429.

All of the open-air theaters and amphitheaters were constructed as part of Park Development Projects. The most outstanding amphitheater was that which was built as part of the project for the development of the High Point Municipal Park. This amphitheater, with its grass seats, stage, and enclosure of cedars and other evergreen plant materials, forms one of the most important features of this project. It has a seating capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000, and will provide an opportunity for the presentation of all sorts of outdoor dramas, entertainments, as well as historical pageants, etc.

In Charlotte at Independence Park, one of the baseball fields has been used for years for Sunday school leagues and business league games. Much interest has always been manifested in these ball games, and attendance especially on Saturday is heavy. No adequate seating arrangements were available until stone bleachers with a seating capacity of 1,500 were constructed. These bleachers, built in a semi-circle, give a splendid view of one of the baseball fields in the park, and the two stone dug-outs with concrete roof slabs, provide facilities for the competing teams.

Average number of men employed (No. 60-B11-2), 15.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 60-B11-2), 1,205.

In Burlington, Willowbrook Park has been built to provide supervised recreation facilities for approximately 700 small children. This project, typical of so many playground projects built in cities, and in the rural areas, affords an opportunity for organized recreation and brings the children off the streets and into a safe place to play.

Average number of men employed (No. 1-B11-5), 27.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 1-B11-5), 1,920.

Another important playground project, although partially completed under CWA, is project No. 98-B11-13, in Wilson. The local interest in this project was extremely fine and materials and other facilities were contributed by those manifesting this interest. This project forms an important part of the recreational program in this community, the social effects of which are widespread. Although Wilson is a comparatively small town, the weekly attendance in the recreational centers and playgrounds of which this project is one of the most important, exceeds two thousand and brings to certain classes, especially those people on relief rolls, a social outlet never before possible to them. Under this project, considerable grading and other preparatory work were done, after which playground equipment and other recreational facilities were installed.

(1) View of amphitheater and bathhouse built at High Point Municipal Park under CWA and ERA, Guilford County. (2) Community House and lake built at Black Mountain, Buncombe County. (3) Improvement of Jacks Creek and Municipal Park, Washington, Beaufort County.

From the standpoint of design, size, beauty, and usefulness, the High Point Municipal Park, built on the city lake property under project 41C-B11-1, is beyond doubt the outstanding park project not only in the state but in this section of the United States. This project was begun with RFC funds, carried on under Civil Works Administration, and worked on for 15 months and carried to completion under the Emergency Relief Administration. This project represents an improvement and an addition to the city of High Point recreational facilities that would most likely have never been possible except under these programs.

The complete project comprises a number of units among which is the swimming pool, 270 feet long and 75 feet wide laid out in the form of a cross, with the cross arm providing space for 50 meter races. The bathhouse, simple in design and built of wood and shingles, provides shower, locker, and toilet facilities for the full bathing load of the pool as well as rest rooms, concession space and outdoor dining rooms. The play field is directly back of the bathhouse and on the same level as the concession floor, and will accommodate a large number of people. To the west of the play field there are accommodations for picnickers including a sheltered barbecue pit and fire place. The ampitheater described above is one of the important features. Facilities have been provided for boating and fishing on the lake as well as another play field with children's apparatus and two tennis courts. Numerous roads, paths, and trails have been built and the whole area has been landscaped. The design and execution of design are excellent. In this project is a lasting monument that will stand to confound forever those who say that all work relief activities are in the "Leaf-raking Category."

Average number of men employed, 241.

Number of man-hours expended, 286,997.

One of the most important small parks built is that built at Spindale, North Carolina. This park with its swimming pool, play field, and picnic areas is built in the heart of a mill village section and provides recreational facilities where no such facilities previously existed, and where the people have little or no opportunity to get pleasure out of their leisure time.

In describing projects carried on by the Emergency Relief Administration, it is difficult even for the Works Division to place the emphasis on the physical accomplishments in terms of dirt moved, concrete poured, etc., instead of upon the benefits which the projects furnish to the public. No finer thing could be done in this locality than furnishing these mill workers with the recreation facilities provided by the completion of this project.

Average number of men employed (No. 81-B11-5), 40.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 81-B11-5), 24,603.

The outstanding small park project of historical interest is that carried on under project No. 28-B3-27 in Dare County, the restoration of old Fort Raleigh. Old Fort Raleigh, "the birthplace of the nation," is being reproduced as a monument to those hardy English adventures who landed there in 1587. On this site, Virginia Dare was given the first Christian baptism in America. The chapel, which has been reproduced, is constructed entirely of white cedar, hewn, and thatched with native reed. The fort includes 16 acres enclosed on three sides with a wooden palisade. The fourth side faces the sound. Within the palisade were constructed twelve log-type buildings, each having an individual historical significance. The smaller cottages are a reproduction of those occupied by the early settlers.

Much research has been done to make sure that all the work carried on at this site is faithfully reproduced both in the appearance and the spirit of the original colony which so mysteriously disappeared. Even the men engaged on this project who are natives of Roanoke Island have manifested much interest and a desire to attain the original atmosphere.

(1) Restoration work at old Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island, Dare County, showing cabins and stockade in background. (2) Chapel constructed as part of the restoration program at old Fort Raleigh. (3) Interior of chapel at old Fort Raleigh. (4) Stockade and blockhouse built at old Fort Raleigh under ERA and CWA.

(1) Intramural field at the University of North Carolina during construction. (2) Intramural field at the University of North Carolina after completion. (3) Field house built at the intramural field at the University of North Carolina. (4) Bleachers and athletic field at State College for Negroes in Durham. (5) Caretaker's house at the City-County Recreational Park near Greensboro. (6) Lake and bath house at City-County Recreational Park near Greensboro.

The most outstanding combination field completed in the Emergency Relief Administration is the intra-mural field at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. This field was built primarily to provide for organized games and sports for the student body of the University who do not compete on freshmen or varsity teams. It also includes one of the finest quarter-mile tracks in the Southeastern states. The project begun under the Civil Works Administration was taken over by the Emergency Relief Administration with the rough grading completed, which involved the moving of thousands of cubic yards of rock and earth. The upper field provides for four football fields. On the lower field the center track includes an area large enough for a combination football and baseball diamond as well as space outside the track for other activities such as Soccer, Lacrosse, etc. Besides providing for the activities of the student body, the center track will be used by the University track team, and a concrete grandstand and field house has been provided. The spirit of the University and its alumni which made this project possible reflects the growing movement to provide opportunity for class and fraternity teams instead of confining all interest to the varsity teams.

Average number of men employed (No. S68-B11-12-C), 113.

Number of man-hours expended (No. S68-B11-12-C), 89,981.

Another interesting combination field constructed is that built under project No. 49-B11-22 in Mooresville, N. C. Under this project, approximately 26,000 cubic yards of earth have been moved, a six by six reinforced concrete culvert 40 feet long has been built. The concrete stadium has been constructed, 4,000 square feet of banks have been sodded, and 1,325 feet of seven-foot galvanized steel fence have been erected. The waste from the athletic field grounds was used to construct a road fill, and this fill and the culvert replace a dangerous limited tonnage bridge. Practically all of the dirt was moved with hand labor and wheel barrows.

One of the most useful baseball fields built as an ERA project is that built at Brookford, in Catawba County, under project No. 18-B11-3. This field serves a mill area which is much interested in baseball and provides a means of recreation in an area which badly needs recreational facilities.

Average number of men employed, 65.

Number of man-hours expended, 7,000.

One of the football fields completed as an ERA project was that built at the Oak Lawn Negro High School in Lincolnton. This project provides recreational facilities for the Negro school children in this section. It is a sad fact but facilities of this nature for Negroes are sadly lacking and much has been done through ERA projects to correct this deficiency.

Average number of men employed (No. 55-B11-1), 20.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 55-B11-1), 897.

Next to the Intra-mural Field at Chapel Hill the most important football field built was that built in Charlotte under project No. 60-B11-3 and known as the Municipal Stadium. Much interest has been shown in the last few years in Charlotte in professional football. Although many of the large colleges in this section could very profitably play some of their away-from-home football games in Charlotte, they have so far been unable to do so because there was no adequate field. The completed project, since it was built on park property owned by the city of Charlotte, forms an important link in the park system of the city. The stadium which surrounds the football field is oval in shape and has been built in a central location.

Work on the project involved building a retaining wall of stone masonry three feet high and 900 feet long. A 14-foot fill, back of the wall, from one and one-half to one slope was constructed.

(1) Improvements at Greenfield Park, Wilmington, New Hanover County. (2) Improvements at Greenfield Park, Wilmington, New Hanover County. (3) Upper: stone wall built at the end of tennis courts, University of North Carolina; lower: asphalt tennis courts built at the University of North Carolina. (4) The municipal lake and park at Rocky Mount. (5) Shelter House at the municipal park at Durham. (6) Community House and swimming pool built at Sanford, Lee County.

A stone masonry culvert 365 feet long with a 36 square foot opening was laid. This is a valuable project as it not only provides a football field but it clears up a swampy area in which mosquitoes bred.

The stadium consists of a football field surrounded by an oval-shaped retaining wall above the earth has been filled and graded so that temporary bleachers can be put on them. It is hoped at a later date that stone seats can be built to complete the project. So far it has been necessary to delay this work to allow the earth fill to settle properly.

Average number of men employed, 336.

Number of man-hours expended, 105,170.

In Durham, under project No. 32-B11-6, the Durham City High School has been provided with a cinder running track which will enable the track team of the Durham City High School to engage in this type of competitive sport. This is very important since many more high school boys are competing on the track teams than have ever done so before.

In Mecklenburg County fourteen new tennis courts have been built under project No. 60-B11-4-C. These courts which are of clay are located in different sections of the city and provide recreational facilities for tennis players in all parts of the city. The project involved grading, draining, clay surfacing and building chain-link fences around courts.

Average number of men employed, 22.

Number of man-hours expended, 4,761.

Following the policy of providing adequate recreational facilities for all students, the University of North Carolina has coöperated under project No. S68-B12-11 to rebuild 44 tennis courts at the University. Work involved clearing the area, moving approximately one hundred thousand cubic yards of dirt and between five and ten thousand cubic yards of rock. Drains of six-inch terra cotta pipe have been laid with stone surface to provide drainage. About 34 of these courts are built of asphalt to provide all weather surface, 8 are sand clay and two are concrete. Certain of the courts are also used for handball.

The construction methods employed on this project were of the highest type and adequate drainage facilities were provided by means of crushed rock and terra cotta pipe. At almost any time one passes these courts--every one is in use.

Average number of men employed, 38.

Number of man-hours expended, 33,945.

In the mountain towns, summer tourists and visitors are much depended on as a source of revenue. In fact, in certain sections of western North Carolina, tourists and other summer trade form one of the largest business enterprises. This being the case, the provision of adequate recreational facilities is of prime necessity. Among the most popular of such facilities are golf courses. For these reasons, the golf course built in Hendersonville is an important project to the local people. Work on this course, which was laid out by Donald Ross, involved repairing and improving the original nine-hole course, and constructing nine additional holes. Completion of this project, No. 45-B11-3, gives to Hendersonville one of the finest courses.

Average number of men employed, 50.

Number of man-hours expended, 59,000.

Another important nine-hole course constructed is that in the town of Sanford, in the Sand Hill region. This course, which is municipally owned, affords an opportunity to the people in this area to find recreation in playing golf. The course itself has a beautiful setting in typical

Sand Hill country. Pine and similar growth form the largest part of the background for the grass fairways and sand greens.

Average number of men employed (No. 53-B11-3), 15.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 53-B11-3), 6,158.

All swimming pools constructed under the Emergency Relief Administration were carefully designed to meet the highest standards of health and sanitation. There are no more modern swimming pools in the South than those constructed in North Carolina as Emergency Relief Administration projects. Special attention has been given to the proper treatment of water through filtration, chlorination, and other chemical treatment, to the proper design of scum gutters, and the proper relation between estimated bathing load and the size of the pool. Showers and foot baths have been so located that every person entering these pools must pass through both. One of the outstanding swimming pools constructed was that built under project No. 54-B11-49 in Kinston. This swimming pool, built as a part of the general development of the Emma Webb Park, is 80 feet wide, 150 feet long, and has a capacity of 500,000 gallons of water. It has a depth at its deepest point of eight feet, six inches. This pool is completely equipped with ladders, spring boards, diving towers, and facilities for spectators. In the construction of the entire unit, nothing has been left undone to assure absolute compliance with the requirements of the State Board of Health. The recirculation system, the most modern of its kind, is completely equipped with chlorination, filter tanks, and other purifying devices assuring a complete change of water every eight hours.

Average number of men employed, 50.

Number of man-hours expended, 39,462.

In Charlotte, a Negro swimming pool has been constructed at Fairview Park under project No. 60-B11-156. The pool, 100 feet square and ranging in depth from two to nine feet, was constructed in the sedimentation basins of the old water works plant. The purification is to be accomplished by coagulation and the water fluxed with alum. Construction of this pool is especially important since it is one of the first Negro swimming pools built in this section, and will afford swimming and bathing opportunities to a large colored population.

The only indoor swimming pool built as an Emergency Relief Administration project is that built under No. 96B-B12-5 in Goldsboro. Under the Emergency Relief Administration, an average of 12 men worked 2,342 hours to complete the pool, 24 feet × 70 feet large. An addition was made to the existing community house and the pool built in this addition. As in the case of all other pools, a filtration system of the highest type has been installed and provides the most sanitary year-around bathing facilities for Goldsboro.

Most of the wading pools built were built in connection with swimming pools and park developments. In High Point, a wading pool has been built near the large swimming pool to provide facilities for small children. In Kinston, a wading pool for small children 16 × 24 feet and from 12 to 24 inches deep has been provided. This pool has a raised water line so that nurses and mothers can keep close watch on the children.

One of the most outstanding bathing features built is McMillan's Beach built near Lumberton in Robeson County under No. 78-B11-18. This provides bathing and boating facilities in a section where such facilities were much needed. A section of the Lumber River has been cleared of logs and other debris and the surrounding grounds cleaned and improved. Hundreds of truck loads of sand have been hauled in to provide a clean, safe beach.

As much interest has been manifested by the North Carolina school authorities in building gymnasiums as in the improvement of schools, and the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration has been especially interested in these projects since they provide opportunities not only for indoor sports, but also for community gatherings, and the promotion of better social life in the community. Several different types of gymnasiums have been built owing to the different amounts of labor available, and the wishes of the local community and the materials used or supplied by the local people. The plans for each gymnasium were approved by the State Board of Education and by the State Insurance Commission so that the necessary number of exits and other fire and safety measures were provided. In Iredell County under project No. 49-B3-21, the Celeste Henkel Gymnasium was built. This building, 125 × 70 feet, is of brick veneer construction and fills a need long felt in the local community to provide indoor recreational facilities. In Wake County, a gymnasium built under project No. 92A-B3-75 employed an average of 25 men who worked 11,004 hours from November 26, 1934 until May 29, 1935. This gymnasium constitutes a valuable addition to the school and an asset to the community. For the school, it will serve as a center for a year-around physical education program. For the people of the community, it will afford a gathering place not only for attendance at athletic contests and games in which their children participate, but for other activities. This gymnasium is of brick construction with steel trusses and a fire proof roof. The fine workmanship on the building is typical of the gymnasiums built under the Emergency Relief Administration program.

The Beaufort gymnasium was started under CWA but only a few feet of brick walls were up when the project was suspended. Under ERA, through the coöperation of the town officials and citizens of Beaufort, the building was completed in forty-five working days, December 5, 1935. The building includes hardwood basketball court, dressing rooms and showers, and seating capacity of eight hundred.

In Yancey County, under project No. 100-B3-1, a stone gymnasium has been constructed at the Bald Creek High School. The construction of this project is a fine example of the effort that has been made by the local and district works divisions to improve the skill of workers or to teach them new skills. When this project was started, practically no stone masons were on relief rolls. The foreman taught several men to lay stone, and these same men have now become fairly skilled stone masons. This project has served a threefold purpose. It provided work for relief cases, it served to train relief workers in a new trade, and it has provided the school and the community with a fine building for indoor sports. An average of 16 workers worked 5,906 man-hours in erecting this gymnasium.

Several different types of park buildings have been built, ranging from the simplest picnic shelters to the most modern bath houses. Among the more attractive buildings built are the boat house at the High Point Municipal Lake, the caretaker's house at the Durham Park, and the Greensboro (Guilford County) Recreational Park. The boat house at High Point is of log and stone construction and houses facilities for the control of boating, a concession stand, and a fair-sized assembly room featured by a fireplace.

The most important fair building constructed was the combination grandstand and exhibit hall for the Cleveland County Fair, located near Shelby. This structure built of stone has reinforced concrete seats facing the track. Underneath the seats are spaces for various exhibits. While the building, when the fair is not in operation, is somewhat rococo in design, it has an especially attractive appearance when the fair is in progress with its colored lights and many banners. Since county fairs give to rural population recreation, education, and examples of better farming methods, this project is well worth while to those who use it.

(1) Gymnasium built at Saluda, Polk County. (2) Gymnasium built at Alliance, Pamlico County. (3) Celeste Henkel Gymnasium built in Iredell County. (4) North Brook No. 1 Gymnasium built in Lincoln County. (5) Sparta High School Gymnasium built in Alleghany County under CWA and ERA. (6) Ferguson School in Wilkes County built under CWA and ERA to replace burned building.

As a part of the general development of Pullen Park in Raleigh which involved building a lake, swimming pool, bathhouses, merry-go-round, and other recreational facilities, a dance hall was constructed on the second story of the bathhouse. There are few public dance halls in this section, and it is believed that this hall will add much to the already great popularity of this park. The finest hardwood flooring has been laid on the dance floor itself, and areas reserved for spectators.

The community buildings built with Emergency Relief Administration funds include some built of stone, some of brick, some of frame construction, some of stone and log construction, and some of log construction. The finest log community house was that built at Scotland Neck, in Halifax County, No. 42-B3-3. This community house has been erected on a corner lot, and provides for both a gymnasium and a community recreation hall. The building is constructed entirely of cypress logs, approximately 1,500 logs being used in its construction. The main hall which will be used for a gymnasium, dancing, and other public gatherings, is 40 feet wide and 80 feet long. There is also a ladies' lounge, a men's lounge, shower baths, kitchen, pantry, and small library on the first floor. On the second floor is a large outside porch and several other rooms for small gatherings. The main hall is entirely surrounded by a second-floor balcony.

Average number of men employed, 31.

Number of man-hours expended, 14,600.

The exterior and interior design of this building has made it a source of pride to the town, and has attracted many visitors. The entire interior is finished in a manner in keeping with the materials used, even the roof being supported by built-up cypress log trusses.

The community house, built at Black Mountain, in Buncombe County, under project No. 11A-B11-2, is situated on the shore of a lake developed as a part of this same project. This community house is finished with shingles and provides a large hall as a gathering place on the main floor, and facilities for boating and bathing from the lower floor.

Average number of men employed, 21.

Number of man-hours expended, 12,266.

Another interesting community center is that built in Roxboro under No. 73-B3-2. Although this project was started as a Civil Works Administration project, practically nothing had been completed, only a small portion of the foundation being laid. The community house is of the colonial cottage type with white clapboard exterior. The interior walls are finished in pine, and the whole effect is very pleasing. Facilities have been provided for an assembly hall, a small library room, a community room, kitchen, and men and women's lounges.

Average number of men employed, 12.

Number of man-hours expended, 7,856.

One of the most unique bathhouses built is that built as a part of project No. 54-B15-59, in Kinston, for the general development of the Emma Webb playground. This bathhouse has a capacity for approximately 300 men, and 200 women. On each side, there are showers and toilet facilities for this number of people. A water heating plant provides hot water. A unique feature of the bathhouse is its open air plan which leaves the whole bathhouse unroofed except the portions which contain the lockers. This assures a maximum amount of sunlight and air which will help keep the dressing rooms dry, sanitary, and free from odors. The concrete walls are high enough to insure privacy, and the open air arrangement will be a great improvement over the average bathhouse.

CONSERVATION OF FISH AND GAME: STATE OYSTER PLANTING (B. 16)

Under project No. 100-B16-2, considerable work has been done to the game refuge in Yancey County. A fish hatchery has been constructed, rearing ponds built, and game pens and deer corrals have been erected on a seventeen thousand acre tract set aside by the Department of Conservation and Development as a game refuge.

This fish hatchery will serve as a supply for stocking streams of a number of the mountain counties. On this project thirty men worked 18,922 man-hours.

At Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, under project No. 26-B16-1, a number of fish rearing pools, 50 by approximately 170 feet long, have been constructed. This is one of the most important units of the Department of Conservation and Development and numbers of trout and bass are being bred in these pools to stock streams and lakes in the eastern part of the state.

Other work done on this project includes improvements to the existing buildings and erection of brooder houses for the propagation of quail and other upland game birds.

Average number of men worked, 73.

Number of man-hours expended, 39,400.

Among the most important conservation projects carried on are the oyster planting projects along the coast of North Carolina. In Hyde County much of this work has been done under project No. 48-B16-3, where 91,084 bushels were planted at an average cost of approximately $0.07 per bushel. This county is so situated that the people depend entirely on agriculture and fishing activities for their livelihood, and the oyster industry is probably the main fish industry in this section.

About ten years ago, oysters of the best quality were in abundance in the waters surrounding Hyde County, but due to storms shifting the bottom sands, the supply has become greatly depleted. The existing beds have, however, sufficient number of oysters available to plant all the desirable bed locations in this section.

The planting of oysters is quite similar to ordinary planting carried on in agriculture. The oyster beds often become too thick for proper development and must be thinned out. The thinning provides seed oysters for cultivation and even oyster shells will serve to start a bed. Before any locations are selected for planting oysters, the proposed areas are carefully analyzed and only those best suited for oyster culture are used. These oyster planting projects, besides adding greatly to the future resources in the coastal regions, provide the only type of work which the fishermen on the relief rolls are best qualified to carry on. An average of about fifteen men have been employed for 26,240 hours in carrying on this work.

(1) Boardwalks built at Wrightsville Beach, New Hanover County, after the fire. (2) Condition of boardwalks at Wrightsville Beach after the fire and before restoration by CWA and ERA. (3) City docks at Morehead City before repairing, Carteret County. (4) The dike built at low beach in Currituck County to prevent ocean water from running into Currituck Sound. (5) Currituck County dike under construction. Currituck Sound is a fresh water sound. (6) City dock at Morehead City after being repaired, Carteret County.

WATERWAY AND FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS INCLUDING WATER CONSERVATION IN DROUGHT AREAS (B. 13, 14)

The only important projects under these classifications were malaria control projects. No streams were cleared or rivers dredged for flood control or transportation or any other purposes primarily. Any benefits of this nature were secondary results of projects carried on for malaria control.

The most important bulkhead construction was that on Currituck Beach under ERA project No. 16-B13-1. This bulkhead was constructed on a strip of beach separating the Atlantic Ocean from Currituck Sound. Currituck Sound is a fresh water sound and is one of the most important winter feeding grounds for wild duck and geese. A storm in the fall several years ago almost cut an inlet through from the ocean to the sound and washed out and lowered an area in the beach. As a result of this, the sound stood in grave danger of being subjected to an influx of salt water which would have turned Currituck Sound from a fresh to a salt water sound and would have destroyed most of the foods on which the wild duck and geese feed. Not only was this serious from the conservation standpoint, but also from an economic standpoint since a great deal of the livelihood of the natives of this section depends on the patronage of the sportsmen during the hunting season.

The bulkhead, constructed of piling and sand, was built along the beach between two sand dunes and so far has successfully served its purpose. This bulkhead, which is about four feet high, should be raised to a height of about eight feet. Plans are now under way to accomplish this.

One of the most important dams built was that built as part of project No. 19-B9-3, construction of the municipal water works for the town of Siler City, Chatham County. This concrete dam was extremely difficult to construct because bed rock for the foundation was far below the surface. However, a solid foundation was finally secured and its construction of reinforced concrete is one of the finest pieces of concrete work accomplished by the Emergency Relief Administration.

Average number of men worked, 47.

Number of man-hours expended, 31,560.

Under project No. 41B-B11-10 for the Greensboro-Guilford County Recreational Park, a series of three lakes has been constructed. The first of these lakes is used partly for boating and partly for bathing, and the necessary sanitary arrangements have been made to meet the health requirements. A sand beach has also been constructed to provide adequate bathing space. The other two lakes are used for fishing and boating. The three lakes together form the most important features of this large recreational area and have been much patronized by the people of this vicinity.

Average number of men worked, 38.

Number of man-hours expended, 48,087.

One of the most important pieces of work under this heading was that done for Elizabeth City under project No. 70-B9-11 as a part of the Municipal Water Plant property. Prior to the completion of this project and due to the closeness to sea level of Elizabeth City, the water supply was extremely unpleasant in taste and odor, and at times could scarcely be used for drinking purposes. The water contained substances which caused pipe and plumbing fixtures to rapidly deteriorate. Under this project an auxiliary shallow-well water supply has been developed. One hundred and twenty-five of these wells varying in depth from twenty to eighty feet have been sunk over a field of 125 acres, located 2½ miles from the city. The pumping station in the center of the field brings the water from these wells through the watermain to the filtration plant and supplies

the people with about thirteen million gallons of water per month. This project employed an average of about 70 men for 20,000 man-hours.

The photograph on page 234 shows the central pumping station which draws water from 125 shallow wells. These wells were jetted down over the well field, an area of 95 acres. The construction of this project consisted of laying underground 13,828 feet of 6- to 10-inch cast iron pipe; 13,825 feet of 2- to 4-inch pipe, and building a brick pump house. The total cost of this project was approximately $33,000.00.

LANDSCAPING, GRADING, EROSION CONTROL (B. 15)

One of the most important projects in this classification is the general development of Greenfield Park at Wilmington, undertaken under project No. 65-B15-53. This park offers recreational facilities to thousands of people and is among the outstanding park developments in Eastern North Carolina. One of the most pleasing features of the setting is the picture that the combination of water and cypress trees makes.

One of the first things done under this project was the draining of four feet of water from the lake so that the tree stumps could be removed or cut to the level to provide sufficient clearance for boating. Over 3,000 trees and shrubs have been planted in the park to date. Two small islands have been built in the lake and several small wooden bridges have been constructed.

This project has attracted state-wide attention and people from many parts of the state visit the park in order to enjoy the beauties natural to this section of the state.

Many azaleas, magnolias and other plants of a like nature have been planted.

From the standpoint of relief labor, this has been a very valuable project since it required chiefly common labor and to date has employed an average of 221 men who have worked 132,271 hours.

Most of the tree and shrub planting and landscaping has been done as part of the general development of park areas, playgrounds and school grounds.

Of these projects one of the most interesting was the grading and landscaping of a small area in the heart of High Point, done under project No. 41C-B15-5. This little park, which is built right on the main street of town, affords a breathing space and a resting place for pedestrians. Located as it is amid office and business buildings, the foilage and the small pool make it a most pleasing oasis. It is an excellent example of what can be done to improve the barrenness of the average city.

Perhaps the most important landscape improvement project was that done on the grounds of the State Capitol building, which is itself an architectural gem built over one hundred years ago. The Capitol had as its setting, concrete walks which cut up the square into a number of nondescript areas. An excellent set of plans had been prepared a few years ago for the proper treatment of the Capitol grounds, but the State had had no available money for carrying on the work until the advent of the Civil Works Administration. Most of the work, however, was done under project No. S92B-B15-34 which was transferred to the Emergency Relief Administration from the Civil Works Administration. Walks were built from materials in harmony with the building. All lawn areas were reseeded and grounds planted in accordance with the well designed planting plan. Included in the development were several areas so designed that statues could be properly featured. The entire project, now that it is complete, provides a perfect setting for the State Capitol Building and also serves as a small park.

Average number of men worked, 35.

Number of man-hours expended, 34,723.

For the past several years, much interest has been manifested in highway beautification, or as it is more properly called, road side improvement. Most of this interest and enthusiasm has expressed itself in the planting of nursery stock or material which does not fit the site. Prior to the Civil Works Administration, the Emergency Relief Administration undertook in several different areas road side improvement projects to serve as examples of proper treatment of highway and road sides. The most important of these projects were projects No. 60-B2-48 in Mecklenburg County and No. 36-B15-11 in Gaston County, which were begun in May, 1933, carried on under CWA and completed under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. These projects in Mecklenburg and Gaston counties are on a twenty-mile length of road known as the Wilkinson Boulevard. This highway, with four lanes of traffic, presented about the best opportunity for this type of work. Much preliminary construction, especially grading and gutter work, had to be done before any planting could be started. The existing cuts and fills had been left at a one to one, or steeper, slope, and in the course of the years had become badly eroded. These banks were graded by hand to a two to one or better slope. The dirt removed from the cuts was used in the fills. Thousands of cubic yards of dirt have been moved on this project to properly prepare the road side for planting. After the grading had been completed, planting was begun and the selection of plant material has been confined mainly to native plants indigenous to that area. Great care was exercised in selecting this plant material so that plants whose ordinary habitat is in dry sunny areas were used in such areas and plants whose natural habitat is moist, shady areas were used on this highway in similar situations. The object, as should be the case in most work of this type, has been to tie in the paved portion of the highway to the existing topography and vegetation by means of proper grading and proper use of plant materials.

Road side improvement projects, provided they can be properly done under the supervision of a competent landscape architect, are projects that fit in particularly well in any work relief program since they require a maximum of unskilled labor and a minimum of materials.

Number of erosion control projects, new construction, 1; old construction, none; improved, none; repaired, none.

Square miles protected, none.

Acres plough-listed in drought area, none.

Acres of terracing, 58.50.

Cubic yards of earth moved in grading projects under this heading, 3,000,000.

Number of other projects, 15.

ERADICATION AND CONTROL OF PESTS AND DISEASE BEARERS (B. 17, 18, 19)

Most of the projects carried on under this classification were projects for malaria control with the exception of a few projects carried on in a few of the coastal areas for the elimination of pestiferous mosquitoes. A considerable amount of this was done under ERA in Dare County and consisted of drainage and elimination of mosquitoes. Owing to the flatness of the land it was necessary that the engineering work be very precise in order to conserve the grade. Drainage projects in Dare County: 28-B17-35; -36; -37; -38; -39; -40; -51; 59; and -40.

Average number of men worked, 104.

Number of man-hours expended, 20,716.

Under project No. 48-B17-2, considerable work for the control of pestiferous mosquitoes was done in Hyde County at Ocracoke, a summer resort on the banks of North Carolina. Prior to the completion of this work, the chief objection to this area was mosquitoes, both malarial and pestiferous. Visitors, as well as natives, were greatly annoyed by the countless numbers of these mosquitoes, and the health of many people was impaired.

Mosquitoes bred in the scores of ponds that dotted the island, and a system of ditches connecting the ponds with outlets to the sound was begun. It was soon found, however, that the motion and the waves in the sound, at the mouths of the ditches, caused the ditches to nearly fill up at the mouths. In order to overcome this, wooden spouts were built at the outlets, and the mouths of the ditches were walled on sides and bottom with two-inch lumber. The floors at the end of the spout nearest the sound were elevated so that sand would not be washed by waves into the mouths of the spouts.

About eighteen miles of ditches and drains have been cut, and the mosquito problem has been greatly reduced.

Average number of men worked, 18.

Number of man-hours expended, 17,977.

Number of other pest and disease bearer eradication projects, 461.

OTHER PROJECTS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY (B. 20)

The finest airport constructed, in fact one of the finest airports in the entire Southeast, is the Raleigh Airport begun under the CWA and completed under the ERA as project No. 92B-B20-38.

Most of the materials used were those transferred from CWA and the total project involved moving 286,000 cubic yards of earth, six thousand cubic yards of rock, surfacing almost two miles of runways 100 feet wide, construction of apron and taxi strips to the hangars and a drainage system for the field. The runways were 500 feet in width and approximately 3,000 feet long with a paved center portion 100 feet wide and the maximum grades were held within the standards of the Department of Commerce.

Approximately 75 men worked 53,626 hours in completing this project.

Under project No. 34B-B15-9, 34-B15-60, the Miller Municipal Airport, located just north of Winston-Salem has been completed. This project also was transferred from CWA. Before the project was approved, this airport consisted of only about fifty acres of poorly graded and badly drained land. Grades ran as high as six per cent and in many places the surface was very rough. Under this project, approximately 250,000 yards of common earth and rock have been excavated, 30,000 square yards of paving laid, and the entire field including the banks has been widened. The hangars and offices have been repaired and remodeled and appropriate airway signs made. An entirely new lighting system furnished by the local authorities has been installed. As a result of this work, Winston-Salem now has modern airport facilities. The flying surface has been increased from less than fifty acres to seventy acres. Grades have been reduced from five and six per cent to a maximum of two to three per cent. As a result of this project, the field has secured routing on the Eastern Airway Passenger Service route.

Average number of men worked, 91.

Number of hours expended, 145,755.

Camp Glenn, at Morehead City, Carteret County, one of the encampments for the National Guard, has been greatly improved under project Nos. S16-B7-26, S16-B10-27, S16-B11-28 and S16-B8-29. Repairs were made to the building, water system and sewer system, and additional recreational facilities were provided.

PROJECTS TO PROVIDE HOUSING (C. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

A number of the houses repaired and remodeled in lieu of rent were worked on for Rural Rehabilitation cases. Wilmington, however, has a project No. 65-C1-67 approved for repairing houses in lieu of rent for relief cases. This project will, it is believed, solve a difficult housing problem that has faced the New Hanover County ERA. The property owners agreed to let the Emergency Relief Administration have houses rent free for the repairs that would be done on them. In no case have repairs been done that will exceed one year's rental value, except in some instances where one house was repaired and two or more houses given rent free.

To date an average of nine men have spent 818 hours in doing this work.

One of the most interesting projects for building houses for Resettlement families is that carried on under project No. 89-C2-47 and project No. 89-C2-61. Tyrrell County gave to the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation 10,000 acres of land for a farm development. To this land, which is bounded by Lake Phelps, have been added 1,400 acres purchased by the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation. Under this project, 23 new houses have been built and 20 old houses repaired, housing 43 families from four counties.

Average number of men worked, 81.

Number of man-hours expended, 13,699.

Under project No. 34-C1-45, a county-wide project for repairing farm and home buildings for Rural Rehabilitation clients in Forsyth County, much work has been done. In one place a two-story dwelling constructed of logs with a one-story "L" used for kitchen and dining room had fallen into a bad state of disrepair. The building had to be reroofed and the entire outside weather-boarded. The horse and feed barns, which were unsafe, were demolished and rebuilt, using as much of the salvaged material as possible. Two tobacco barns which were in a very bad condition were demolished and rebuilt.

Much work of this sort that has been undertaken for the Rural Rehabilitation Program under the Emergency Relief Administration will be successful.

MAKING OF CLOTHES (D. 1)

Practically all of the sewing rooms carried on as ERA projects in North Carolina produced garments of several types. None of the most important projects were confined to the production of one particular class of garments. Thousands of articles of clothing have been produced in North Carolina under the sewing room projects, garments sorely needed by relief clients. These sewing room projects have also been used as training centers for teaching women on relief the art of making clothing.

In Gaston County, for instance, eight sewing rooms have been operated. The value of the sewing rooms in Gaston County can be seen from the following statistics:

From Mecklenburg County comes a photograph of a child's dress with these comments. "The garment presented in this photograph may not be a thing of beauty but in the heart of the Negro mother who fashioned it there was a pride never before known in all her life. The dress made for a Mecklenburg County pickaninny is a bit of Easter finery that will rate, for the child who wears it, with the best worn in America. The reason is plain, it is the first garment ever made for this child by her own mother.

Fashioned as it is from a burlap and a sugar sack, the dress represents a minimum of cost, just the thread, a bit of ingenuity and patience.

The Negro woman who made this garment never sewed a stitch before coming to the sewing room. She didn't even know how to thread a needle. Now she is learning to sew, to mend garments for her husband and children, and to do many other things that the average man and woman "accepts as a matter of course."

In these Mecklenburg County projects the women who are skilled seamstresses have been used to instruct the less skillful women.

Many employable relief women have been afforded work opportunities on projects for the production of clothing, and there is for almost every project some sort of a story of the benefits derived by the workers.

In High Point a project, No. 41C-D1-34, under which the sewing rooms were operated, started with one sewing room employing 10 people. From this, however, developed a project employing 305 people in four sewing rooms. In these sewing rooms all sorts of wearing apparel have been made. One real result has been accomplished: The workers have been taught pride in personal appearance. While the sewing rooms are in operation, talks on personal hygiene have been made and the care of children has been discussed at length. One woman who has been employed on this project could not hem a towel when she first began work but since that time has learned to make all sorts of garments. She has taken such an interest in sewing that she has purchased her own sewing machine.

Number of man-hours expended, 104,515.

In Duplin County under project No. 31-D1-3, sewing rooms have been operated which have provided more real good than any other project of a similar character within the County. In Duplin County there are a large number of families, both white and colored, who are unable for lack of experience to make clothing for their families. The operation of the sewing rooms under capable supervision has provided work for women workers. An average of 55 persons has been used on this project, expending a total of 28,511 man-hours.

In many localities sewing rooms have gone far towards solving the Women's Works Division project problem. The articles produced are always badly needed. In those sections in which there are large numbers of families having no male employables, sewing rooms have been extremely helpful.

CANNING AND PRESERVING OF FOOD (D. 2)

Projects for the canning and preserving of food have been in every way as important as projects for the production of clothing. Under these projects much food has been produced for relief clients. The educational value of such projects is tremendous, not only in teaching relief clients how to can and preserve foods but also in promoting better household management on the part of the relief clients.

In Gaston County the Gaston County Local Emergency Relief Administration launched its canning program on July 5, 1934, in conjunction with the individual garden activities. The aim of the program was to have every relief family in the entire county can for winter use as many quarts of food as possible and as nearly as possible meet the standards of fruit and vegetable canning as set up by the State College Extension Department. The purpose of the project was therefore twofold: First, to teach families to save for their own use surplus food produced in the gardens or secured in other ways; and secondly, to can as many quarts of food as possible.

Facilities for canning demonstrations were set up in 25 white and 6 colored centers, and were used by relief women from 33 white and 7 colored communities. In August at the height of the canning season, 39 canning leaders were employed, 22 of these being relief clients. Each center was in charge of a canning leader and helpers were employed in some of these instruction centers.

Relief clients were required to be present at the center for a canning lesson at least once each week. Incidentally many men attended. Any products brought by the clients were used in demonstration and any woman who wished to bring foods to the cannery was permitted to can it there under the leader's supervision.

It was part of the duty of the canning leaders to periodically visit the homes of the relief clients to supervise the home canning. Prizes were given in each community as an incentive to promote quality and quantity. These prizes were donated by merchants in the county. The canning program was extremely valuable in teaching relief clients to be economical and to properly preserve foods. Many relief women had never learned to can and preserve foods.

Aside from the actual canning of food, there is a social factor not to be overlooked. Association with others, chatting and talking together, not only made otherwise idle hours enjoyable but brought a stimulus to the ofttimes monotonous job of homemaking. This project is typical of those projects under which home canning and canning center work was carried on.

In Chadbourn, Columbus County, under project No. 24-D2-59, a cannery built with ERA labor was operated. This cannery was put into operation May 23, 1935, and was still in almost continuous operation through the summer of 1935. Vegetables and fruits were canned on a fifty-fifty basis between the ERA and local families.

In this section during the past four or five years, the latter part of the strawberry season has found the market flooded. This cannery provides an opportunity for the farmers to have their surplus strawberries canned on a half-and-half basis and helps to keep the market from being flooded.

Aside from the economic value to the community, the cannery has been most important as a training school to women on relief rolls, teaching them better methods of canning and preserving foods as well as habits of personal cleanliness in handling foods. It is felt locally that the practical demonstration of the value of coöperation, tolerance and the dignity of labor has been very helpful. Remarkable changes in personal appearance and social expressions have taken place among the relief clients.

By far the largest project of meat canning projects was carried on under the Cattle Program which handled the western cattle. One of the largest canneries established was that in Greensboro, operated under project No. 41B-D2-57. In this cannery, as in all the other meat canneries established under the Cattle Program in North Carolina, the highest sanitary standards were maintained. All employees underwent a physical examination before being put on the project. Special uniforms were made in the sewing rooms for use in the meat canning plants, and nurses were on duty at all times to care for accidents and to see that the proper sanitary standards were maintained. The Greensboro plant provided employment for many men and women, especially men in the non-manual class. Soup stock, chop meat, hamburger and other forms of beef were canned. Night and day shifts were employed in this cannery as in all others due to the tremendous pressure brought to dispose of the cattle.

Average number of persons employed, 650.

Number of man-hours expended, 300,000.

In Winston-Salem under project No. 34B-D2-44-C, several hundred barrels of sauerkraut were produced. In Watauga County and other counties adjacent to Winston-Salem, there was a surplus of cabbage, much of which would have gone to waste. This was purchased by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration at a very low price and sent to Winston-Salem where it was converted into kraut, which was distributed to relief clients in thirty counties.

Average number of persons employed, 30.

Number of man-hours expended, 21,311.

SUMMARY

Number of women employed, 3,084.

Number of canning centers, 579.

Number of other food preservation centers, 971.

Number of cans of meat, 6,431,972.

Number of cans of vegetables, 4,691,609.

Number of cans of fruit, 1,187,001.

Pounds of other foods preserved (dehydrating, etc.), 459,480.

GARDEN PROJECTS (D. 3)

Garden projects carried on in North Carolina fall generally into two classes. They were operated either as individual gardens or as community gardens. Individual gardens are those gardens which a relief client works for himself with his own labor. Supervision, seed, and fertilizer for individual gardens were furnished by the Emergency Relief Administration generally as part of the client's budget.

Community gardens are those gardens operated on a large scale in which all necessary seed and materials and labor from the relief rolls were paid with relief funds. The produce in this case was property of the Emergency Relief Administration, to be distributed.

During the season of 1935, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration established a policy of operating community gardens only in those urban areas where land was not available for individual gardens. This policy was adopted because it was felt that in most instances better results, both physical and social, would be obtained by operating individual gardens. The 1934 Community Garden in Asheville operated under project No. 11B-D4-34 offers an excellent example of the results obtained from community gardens. For this project the city of Asheville

donated the use of 104 acres of land. Although some of this land had not been worked for fifteen years and none of it for three, excellent results were obtained. The cost of the project from the time work was started May 1, 1934, until November 1, 1934, was:

Labor, total 30,339½ man-hours

$9,289.25

Material (including fertilizer)

1,264.23

Equipment and other costs

950.00

Total cost

$11,503.48

From this Garden the following was harvested:

Apples, bushels. . . . .140

Green Beans, bushels. . . . . 2,132

Green Corn (Roasting Ears), dozen. . . . . 11,000

Hard Corn, bushels. . . . . 500

Carrots, bushels. . . . . 86

Okra, bushels. . . . . 150

Tomatoes, bushels. . . . . 350

Greens, bushels. . . . . 2,050

Spinach, bushels. . . . . 150

Cabbage Plants. . . . . 150,000

Tomato Plants. . . . . 25,000

Cabbage, tons. . . . . 40

Irish Potatoes, bushels. . . . . 1,500

Rutabaga Turnips, bushels. . . . . 500

White Turnips, bushels. . . . . 400

Sorghum Syrup, gallons. . . . . 250

Feed, tons. . . . . 20

From the above, a total of 61,346 quart cans of vegetables, soup, etc., and 900 gallon cans of kraut were put in the Relief Administration Cannery for winter distribution. In addition, 5½ bushels of beans and okra were dried. The remainder of the produce was distributed fresh through the commodity building as a Relief Commodity, with the exception of the feed (roughage) and the hard corn which was used to feed the horses.

Figured at the wholesale price of each of the above commodities at the time it was gathered, the total value of everything produced in this garden amounts to $11,644.25.

In view of the fact that so much of the labor cost on this project was for clearing the land, and that the equipment had to be bought, this Garden Project has been an exceptional success.

For Individual Garden purposes the city of Charlotte was divided in 21 districts in which were 817 Individual Gardens. One Supervisor and six walking Garden Inspectors visited these gardens to advise concerning the planting and cultivation of the gardens. One of the results of the Individual Garden projects is that the clients were taught to grow at least a part of their vegetables, thus providing themselves with necessary items of diet at little cost.

PRODUCTION OF FUEL (D. 4)

Production of Fuel--About the only type of fuel produced by North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration projects is wood. In many of the larger urban areas, wood yards were operated continuously since the days of RFC grants. In most cases the standing timber has been donated and relief labor and equipment used to fell and saw the timber.

In Davie County under project No. 30-D3-15, the county has furnished part of the trucks on a coöperative basis. As a result of this project 14 acres of ground were cleared and grubbed providing acreage for ERA clients for two years.

One of the largest wood yards operated was that operated in Raleigh under project No. 92B-D4-87. The wood produced under this project has given relief clients assistance which prevented much suffering during the winter months. One general foreman, four to six truck drivers and thirty laborers were used each day sawing, splitting and delivering wood.

Number of man-hours expended, 12,443½.

SUMMARY

Cords of wood cut, 25,354.

Cubic yards of peat cut, none.

Tons of coal mined, none.

Tons of other fuel produced, none.

PRODUCTION OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS (D. 5)

Such items as pillow cases, toweling and sheeting were made under the sewing room projects. Separate projects were set up for making mattresses from materials sent by the Surplus Commodity Division.

In High Point under project No. 41C-D5-38, a mattress factory was opened with but one mattress maker in the entire personnel. This was a Negro who had received his training in a local mattress factory. A supervisor who had been trained at the Textile Institute in Raleigh used this man as a nucleus around which to build the entire force. Production on this project developed from one mattress on the first day to as high as twenty-five in one day. A steady improvement in the quality of work was made as time went on. From September 6, 1934, until January 1, 1935, 926 mattresses were made. Very few of the people employed on this project had ever been regularly employed and formed at the outset a disorganized group. They gradually, however, developed into good workers.

Average number of persons employed, 57.

Number of man-hours expended, 13,615½.

SUMMARY

Number of brooms, mops, etc. made, 23.

Number of pillow cases made, 97,255.

Yards of toweling made, 189,036.

Number of towels, 252,973.

Yards of sheeting made, 127,675.

Number of sheets, 66,851.

Number of quilts made, 14,738.

Number of mattresses made, 28,142.

Pounds of soap made, 115,772.

Units of other household goods made, 11,806.

PRODUCTION OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

(D. 6)

Much of the construction material produced under Emergency Relief Administration projects is crushed stone. In Catawba County two quarry projects produced good stone at low cost and

provided 11,503 cubic yards of stone which were used on streets and roads. The crushing and placing of the stone used about 100 men for fifty thousand hours.

(D. 7)

In Winston-Salem a project for making first aid kits to be distributed to different projects in the state was carried out and a total of 776 kits were made.

Average number of men employed (No. 34-D7-57), 9.

Number of man-hours expended (No. 34-D7-57), 751½.

In Iredell County under project No. 49-B20-72 the best office furniture produced in the state has been made. From March 2, 1935 until July 1, 1935, an average of 23 men spent 7,226 hours in making 155 flat top office desks, 106 typewriter desks, 371 office chairs, 21 book shelves, two cabinet stands, two filing stands, six filing carriages, 14 tables, 24 costumers, eight benches and one bookkeeping desk. Through this project, twenty-three ERA district administrative offices, two field offices and the State ERA office have been partially or wholly supplied with office equipment. The furniture made under this project is as high in quality as that produced commercially.

SUMMARY

PUBLIC WELFARE PROJECTS (E. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

In North Carolina much has been done through the Emergency Relief Administration to improve the health of those people who ordinarily, for one reason or another, have had no access to medical attention or nursing facilities. In Tyrrell County, for instance, there are over 5,000 people with only one doctor and one nurse to serve the entire county. Under project No. 89-E1-5, an ERA nurse visited the relief homes of the county, giving lectures on sanitation, first aid courses, diet and nursing. Her activities probably saved many lives.

Average number employed, 2.

Number man-hours expended, 1,597.

In Scotland County under project No. 83-E1-38, home nurses provided medical attention to relief cases. Two nurses paid visits to 76 homes, making daily visits to relief families.

The school lunch room programs carried on in North Carolina have resulted not only in providing at least one adequate meal per school day for under-nourished relief children, but have been the means of causing numbers of these people to provide adequate diets in their own homes.

In Duplin County there are numbers of families whose children are under-nourished due to the lack of knowledge of the mothers as to the requirements of growing children, as well as lack of funds. The operation of the lunch rooms in this county was the means of providing proper nutrition to 455 children weekly. Approximately 22 people worked 7,065 hours on this project. Teachers reported that the children of relief clients had not only improved physically through the provision of school lunches, but had made better grades in their school work and had improved their deportment.

In Gaston County, twenty-seven lunch rooms were operated and from ten to one hundred fifty relief children were served hot lunches daily. A large number of these children were taught to

eat vegetables and drink milk, and the children gained an average of nine pounds per child. Twenty-seven women worked 11,027 hours on this project (No. 36-E2-26) from October, 1934, until May, 1935.

In Macon County, teachers reported that the hot lunches served to relief clients made an appreciable difference in attendance and in grades. Many children who had one or more miles to walk over mountain trails or muddy roads ordinarily were absent from school on all but the most pleasant days, but the teachers said that with a hot lunch in prospect, weather and distance seem to make no difference.

The projects under which public health and home nurses worked in giving the various tests and treatments were in coöperation with the county health officers where such organizations existed. The most frequent criticism which these officials made was that the Emergency Relief Administration could not carry on more projects of this nature. All the county health officers heartily coöperated and felt that the work being carried on was extremely useful and valuable, filling a long-felt need.

In Gastonia, which is a town depending mainly on mills and which, therefore, has a very large mill population, public health, public welfare, recreational, and similar projects are unusually valuable. For this reason much attention was given to them here as well as in other similar localities. In Gastonia (Project No. 36-E4-10) during the past recreational season, 26 white and four Negro recreational workers have spent 11,416 hours providing recreational facilities in seventeen white and three Negro communities. Figures show that the attendance for white children was 137,259 and Negro children 1,652; for white adults, 28,974, and Negro adults, 107, a total attendance of 167,992.

Funds subscribed by churches, Sunday schools and various other institutions made it possible to carry on many new games and songs, and to teach handicraft and other similar activities.

Number of other welfare projects, 3. (Nurse and other help, Community clinic.)

Number visiting housekeepers and aids, 268.

Number homes visited, 36,374.

Attendance at Group meetings, 41,758.

PUBLIC EDUCATION, ARTS, AND RESEARCH (F. 1-8)

One of the most important Federal Survey projects, No. S-F2-27, carried on was the project for the promotion of birth registration in North Carolina. The splendid publicity given this project and the high efficiency of the relief workers on the project made it possible to secure a much higher registration of births in North Carolina than it had been believed possible.

Average number of men worked, 14.

Number of man-hours expended, 8,441.

The Federal Housing Administration projects carried on in a number of counties have resulted, according to their statistics, in many building activities.

A state survey, No. S-F2-15, made with the ERA, and having far-reaching potential results, was the rural electrification survey. This survey, carried on in over seventy counties, secured valuable information on existing conditions with regard to rural electrification in the areas surveyed. The potential consumption and many other factors necessary to be known before a rural electrification program could be carried on were obtained. As a result of this program there has been set up in North Carolina by the state, a Rural Electrification Committee to deal with the problem, and on the basis of this survey it will be possible for the committee to determine those areas in which it is most feasible to promote rural electrification.

CHILD WELFARE SURVEY

A very important state survey was the Child Welfare Survey carried on under project No. S-E6-1 which employed an average of twenty-five men and eighty-six women. This survey was sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary Department and a director was furnished by this organization. One hundred thousand veteran cards furnished by the National Child Welfare Committee, sixty-five thousand state cards furnished by the Department of Child Welfare Fund of the Legion and the Auxiliary, ten thousand cards for the blind furnished by the State School for the Blind and ten thousand cards for the deaf furnished by the State School for the Deaf were used.

The purpose of this survey was to determine the number, the names and addresses of crippled, blind, deaf, tubercular, and children having other physical or mental handicaps. The information secured under this survey will be very useful in bringing to the attention of various public-spirited

citizens and organizations the needs of specific cases. For instance, in a certain town the Rotary, Civitan and other clubs will be informed of the location and needs of handicapped children in order that they may supply funds to help these children. Other organizations, including the Auxiliary Department of the American Legion, will continue to contact and help these children.

North Carolina, under RFC funds, was one of the first states to use engineers and instrument men on relief for making Coast and Geodetic surveys. Under project No. S18-F2-10, Catawba County, this work has been carried on. As is the case of all other projects under this category the results have met the strictest standards of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Extreme care has been used to make these surveys precise in all respects. Many monuments have been established and much valuable information recorded.

Average number of men worked, 7.

Number of man-hours expended, 7,314.

The most interesting water colors painted were those painted under project No. S92B-F3-7, Raleigh, for one of the state departments. These water colors, which are studies of wild plant life, rank with the best work of this type. The coloring and the delineation were very accurate.

Average number of men worked, 1.

Number of man-hours expended, 690.

The most important project, certainly one causing the most comment, was project No. S-92B-F3-8, for painting murals in the State College Library. The murals, which are done in a somewhat modern manner, are said by some to be excellent, while others do not agree. Work on this project, which was begun on May 31, 1934 and completed on November 29, 1934, took one man and one woman 1,270 hours to complete.

All types of clerical projects have been carried on. Various agencies, Federal, state and local, such as the Farm Debt Adjustment Commission, the Federal Seed Loan Commission, the Federal Reëmployment Office, the Public Works Administration, the Federal Housing Administration and county offices, have been supplied with help. These projects made it possible to carry on work that would have otherwise suffered from lack of funds, as well as to provide work relief for men and women qualified to do work of this type.

Typical of these projects is one for re-indexing records in the register of deeds office in Mitchell County. Under this project, No. 61-F4-5, three people have worked 3,623 hours. All the records in the register of deeds office were indexed. This project, as well as many others like it, resulted in increased efficiency and much better system of records for the counties concerned.

One of the most important safety campaigns carried on under this classification, project No. 32-E5-53, was that carried on in the city of Durham under the supervision of the Police Department. Under this project automobiles were driven through a safety line and checked for wheel alignment, condition of brakes, condition of head lights and for other mechanical deficiencies. Approximately 5,000 automobiles were checked and those found to be deficient were issued cards and later checked to see that they had corrected the difficulties.

Average number of men employed, 13.

Number of man-hours expended, 1,593½.

The only symphony orchestra project in North Carolina was the State Symphony Orchestra, operated under project No. S-F5-2. This orchestra, which has received favorable comment from local, state and Federal officials, has been the means, not only of providing employment for musicians eligible for relief, but in also making it possible for numbers of people to hear symphonic

music. All relief cases have been admitted to these concerts without charge. Concerts and programs have been presented in Wilmington, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and other towns in North Carolina. Recently a one-half hour program was presented by the symphony orchestra over a coast to coast net work of the National Broadcasting Company, and many radio programs have been presented through local stations.

There can be no doubt but that this project has produced an excellent symphony orchestra in spite of the many hardships and difficulties under which it has been forced to operate. It is hoped that this project will be the means of helping the symphony orchestra to be a self-maintaining organization.

SUMMARY

Number of teachers, not including any employed in emergency education program, 116.

Number of Federal Surveys--list later under main types, 70.

Number of state and local surveys, 72.

Number of research projects and surveys other than statistical and sociological, 20.

Number of traffic surveys, 2.

Number of watercolors painted, 7.

Number of oils painted, 3.

Number of drawings, etchings, etc., 5.

Number of frescoes, murals, 23.

Number of statues, none.

Number of other art projects and units produced, 603.

Number of clerical projects, 74.

Number of institutions aided, 102.

Number of safety campaigns, campaigns for instruction in first aid, etc., 10.

Number of handicraft projects in operation, 7 (does not include handicraft projects in ERA education).

Types of articles made:

Baskets, 157.

Rugs, 486.

Toys, 1,682.

Hinges, 235.

Foot stools, 6.

Handicraft Classes, 285.

Number women employed, 41.

Number persons enrolled, 2,698.

WOMEN'S WORK DIVISION

From the beginning of Unemployment Relief Activities in 1932, work was available for women in clerical jobs, sewing rooms (in coöperation with the American Red Cross), school lunches, promotion of relief gardens, canning, cleaning, etc. Although a large number of women was employed on these jobs, prior to CWA, records were not kept separating the number of women from the number of men on work relief, and no special emphasis was placed on promotion of projects especially suitable for women.

Upon the inauguration of Civil Works, which afforded mainly engineering and construction jobs, it was immediately apparent that very few work opportunities would be available for women. The large numbers of destitute and employable women who were heads of families, widows with children, married women, who were often the only employable member of the family, single women, many of whom had dependents, were a grave concern to the relief agencies. Professional and technical women, business women, college women who had no particular training for work nor experience, and unskilled women were without means of support.

To deal with this problem, the FERA established the Women's Division as an adjunct of the Civil Works Administration. The Director of the Women's Division was charged with the responsibility of organizing corresponding divisions in the state administrations for the purpose of initiating and promoting projects which would provide work suitable for trained and untrained women.

WOMEN'S DIVISION IN THE STATE ERA AND CWA December 1, 1933 to March 31, 1934

The state and local Civil Works Administrations were under terrific pressure to have the entire state quotas at work within a month after inception of Civil Works. The quota was practically filled when authority was given in early December to create the Women's Division, therefore an additional quota was allowed the state in order to provide for employable women.

The Women's Work Division while directly responsible to the State Administrator has also been considered as a branch of the Works Division, and as such has, of course, closely coöperated in seeing that projects for the employment of relief women are provided. The Women's Division has helped in wage scale adjustments for Women's Work, and has been responsible to Washington for reporting the activities concerned with Women's Work and for making other special reports required.

The Women's Work Division in North Carolina has had no volunteer assistance in the state office, but the various state and local governmental agencies and departments, such as the state Extension Service, the Home Demonstration Agents, public welfare officials, etc., have coöperated closely and have been very helpful. Space, equipment, and materials for Women's Work projects have been provided in various ways. In some instances, such as projects for indexing county records, all space, equipment, and materials have been provided by the sponsors of the projects. In other instances, especially for sewing rooms, space and equipment have been furnished by governmental units, or some private organization or individuals. For some sewing room projects and projects for the production of food, etc., the Emergency Relief Administration has itself furnished a large portion of the equipment and materials needed.

ADMINISTRATION

The personnel of the state office of the Women's Division of the Civil Works Administration and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration consisted of one State Director of Women's Work and two clerical assistants.

County Directors of Women's Work were appointed by local Civil Works Administrators in consultation with District Supervisors, and with the approval of the State Civil Works Administrator. Forty-three county directors of women's work were employed.

WORK PROJECTS

Women's work projects were of two types--Civil Works projects and Civil Works Service projects. Civil Works projects were those directly connected with construction work, or leading directly or indirectly to possible construction work.

In North Carolina Civil Works projects included clerical help in Civil Works Administrative offices, Reëmployment offices and other offices connected with construction work, timekeepers, construction work (building a wall), highway planting and beautification, landscape gardening on parks and school grounds and enumerators on surveys. Civil Works projects were paid from CWA funds.

Civil Works Service projects included projects other than Civil Works projects. Civil Works Service projects employing women in North Carolina included: Assistants to Attendance Officers; clerical workers in offices of Aeronautical Adviser, CWA, County Health Departments, County Court Officers, Clerks of Court, County Officials, City Officials, City and County Schools, Home Demonstration Agents, HOLC, NRA, Registers of Deeds; school census enumerators; furniture repair and toy making for relief families; janitors to schools and public buildings; librarians to schools and public libraries; lunch room workers; laboratory technicians; nurses in public health, schools, hospitals, clinics, and bedside nursing for relief families; recreation directors; sewing room workers (making mattresses, rugs, quilts and garments for relief families); soap makers; taxidermists; visiting housekeepers; weeders on municipal golf courses; and other variations of these types of work.

Civil Works Service projects were paid from FERA funds on the basis of the following wage scale:

The four largest units employing women were sewing rooms, clerical help, lunch rooms and janitorial service.

SEWING ROOMS

In the sewing rooms, workers rehabilitated old garments and made new materials into garments. Materials were used for the making of mattresses, rugs, quilts and wearing apparel for individuals and families on relief rolls.

Women who were employed in the sewing rooms began as semi-skilled or unskilled but later on, under skilled supervision, became skilled seamstresses.

The estimated value of the products made in the sewing rooms in North Carolina was $115,000, and the estimated number of individuals helped 34,168.

CLERICAL

This includes services to many offices of the state, cities and counties, enabling them to accomplish a much greater volume of work than would otherwise have been the case. In many counties records dating as far back as one hundred fifty years have been re-indexed and made available for use.

For the most part women who were put on clerical work were skilled workers.

LUNCH ROOMS

Workers were used to prepare and serve lunches to children of relief families, insuring that these children receive one well-balanced and nourishing meal daily. The lunch room workers were semi-skilled and unskilled.

JANITORIAL

Many Negro women were numbered in this group. They rendered service in keeping school and public buildings clean and orderly.

VISITING HOUSEKEEPERS

Visiting housekeepers, with the coöperation of the County Home Demonstration Agent, instructed housekeepers in various types of home problems. The following subjects were taught:

Vegetable cookery

The making of comfortable beds

Food essentials

Diet for pellagra patients

The proper laying of a table

How to read and write

Home nursing

Quilt making

Tie dyeing

Making of hooked and braided rugs

Swedish weaving

Making slip covers for chairs

Better home cooking

Preparation of food for the sick

Bread making

First aid

Gardening

Literature was also given covering many of the above subjects.

HIGHWAY PLANTING AND BEAUTIFICATION

Among the beautification projects school grounds have been cleaned of underbrush and rocks removed. Native shrubs and plants have been planted. Grading of school grounds has been accomplished. Workers on school grounds and on highway beautification have developed an interest in beautifying their own grounds with native shrubs and flowering trees.

RELATIVE PROPORTION OF MEN AND WOMEN ON RELIEF ROLLS

Information received from 88 counties, March 28, 1934, concerning the relative proportion of men and women on the relief rolls, follows:

RELIEF ROLLS

No.

Percent

No.

Percent

Men who are heads of families

48,906

74.8

Women who are heads of families

16,471

25.2

Non-family men

3,254

40.8

Non-family women

4,719

59.2

Other men

8,496

23.5

Other women

27,692

76.5

Total

60,656

Total

48,882

These figures indicate that about 20 per cent to 30 per cent of total work projects might be suitable percentage of projects planned to take care of needy and unemployed women under the new program.

WOMEN'S ACTIVITIES APRIL 1, 1934, TO DECEMBER 1, 1935

At the close of Civil Works, all women's projects were suspended for a few months during the reorganization, except lunch rooms and clerical jobs. Relieved of the speed and pressure of Civil Works, more careful planning for fitting the job to the worker, as well as a greater variety of jobs, was possible. Trained women were provided with work in their specialized fields, such as public health and public welfare projects, surveys and research projects for the accumulation of valuable social and historical data which could not have been secured otherwise, recreational projects under trained directors, increasing playground and recreational facilities for the development of youth, educational programs, and varied types of technical and professional service. Providing jobs for the college graduates, professional and technically trained women has required ingenuity, but providing jobs for the thousands of able-bodied unskilled women, particularly those who could not secure health certificates, was a real problem.

By far, the largest number of women was employed in sewing rooms and mattress making, the maximum number being 6,285. Over 638,596 men's, women's, and children's garments, and 437,900 quilts, sheets, towels, pillow cases, and other household goods were made. The mattresses made by women in the work rooms compared favorably with machine-made mattresses; 28,142 comfortable mattresses were made from the cotton and ticking furnished by the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation for distribution among relief families.

In addition to the women in the meat canneries, over 3,000 women were employed in canning 5,878,610 quarts of fruits and vegetables, and dehydrating 459,580 pounds of fruit.

Better standards of living were promoted through the 201 "visiting home makers" who gave instructions and advice in 36,374 homes in cooking, furnishings, cleanliness, and in the fundamental

comforts of the home. In addition to the individual service in homes, 7,000 meetings, attended by 41,758 persons, were held.

Training classes for domestic servants were held by women experienced in housekeeping. This type of work has enabled maids, cooks, butlers, and chauffeurs to secure private jobs at better wages.

Through the school lunch program, 1,561 women were employed in providing lunches for a weekly average of 75,000 school children.

Public welfare and public health projects provided employment for 210 nurses, 126 women assisting in health work, and many more practical nurses. These projects have aided permanently in health promotion and prevention of disease by dispensing general health information, teaching midwives under medical direction, bedside nursing, and nursing service in clinics. There were 23,450 home visits made by nurses; 39,608 children examined; and 19,934 immunizations given in homes and in clinics.

There were 190 women employed in 84 community and recreational centers giving service to 60,838 persons.

In the handicraft classes, 41 women taught over 3,000 persons to make rugs, baskets, toys, pottery, and other articles that adorn the home, and which also have a market value.

In October, a special grant of $40,000 was made to ERA for women on WPA projects, thus expediting the transfer of women's projects to WPA. Although working on WPA projects, they were paid through ERA.

The number of women employed by months is given below.

WOMEN'S WORK DIVISIONApril 1, 1934, through December 31, 1935

1934

No. Women Employed

1935

No. Women Employed

April

925

January

7,028

May

1,127

February

6,357

June

2,636

March

6,758

July

3,661

April

7,250

August

4,589

May

8,145

September

4,396

June

9,052

October

4,748

July

9,190

November

5,007

August

7,886

December

6,437

September

6,481

October

5,255

November

759

December

366

(In addition to the above figures, over 2,000 women were employed in the Emergency Relief Education Program.) Projects operated by women are included in the Works Division Report according to classification.

LABOR RELATIONS AND WAGE SCALES

In accordance with the orders received from the Washington office, wage rate committees in each county, comprised of one member from organized labor, one member from business, and one member from the Emergency Relief Administration, were set up to determine wage rates. Wage rates set up varied from 15c to 30c an hour for common labor, and from 40c to $1.00 per hour for

skilled labor. Wage rates had absolutely no effect on budgets since the budgets were set up by the Social Service Division in terms of dollars and cents, and the Works Division had to assign each worker for sufficient number of hours to earn this budget at his particular rate.

Working hours were set at not less than six nor more than eight, in any one day, and not more than 30 hours in any one week. In case of extreme emergency, exceptions were made to the above hours.

There were scarcely any strikes under the Emergency Relief Administration program, and for this reason strikes were not a source of trouble. In some cases, strikes in private industries increased the number of relief clients, but the strikes did not spread among relief clients. Most of the grievances and complaints were those made because of the small number of hours allotted to workers. Since the Works Division has nothing to do with the allotment of hours, grievances and adjustments of this nature were handled by the Social Service Division. Unemployment organizations were few, what few there were being in the larger industrial areas.

Relations with labor unions were mainly concerned with wage scales and as a whole have been fairly reasonable.

Labor relations in North Carolina have been comparatively free from friction and unpleasantness and have never developed into a major problem. All complaints and grievances were promptly investigated and discriminations were properly adjusted. This and fair treatment of workers kept labor relations on the proper basis.

Practically all labor problems were handled and adjusted by the State Administrator and the general field representatives. Conditions in North Carolina were such that this method worked excellently and it never became necessary to establish a labor relations department in the Works Division.

OLD FORT TANNERY

Establishment of Tannery at Old Fort to Restore Stranded Community

Old Fort, McDowell County, since 1902 had been a leather making town and community. The only industries of the town were the Union Tanning Company and the Old Fort Extract Plant, which together employed approximately 375 persons.

In 1931, the large tannery was so badly damaged by fire that the company ceased tanning operations, throwing approximately 225 men out of work. The following year the Old Fort Extract Plant ceased production, adding 125 more to the unemployed population of the immediate section. The closing of these two plants assumed the proportions of major catastrophes, not only to those directly involved but to every member of the community--banker, merchant, laborer and the local government. Practically the entire community was prostrated and Old Fort was left with a stranded population, people without any means of meeting their normal obligations and with little hope of any renewed industrial activities. A discouraged and helpless attitude developed among the people throughout the entire community. No cash crops such as tobacco, cotton or wheat are grown in the surrounding country and the farmers had depended largely on the sale of bark and chestnut wood to the Union Tanning Company which used the vegetable process in tanning. Almost the entire population became dependent on ERA for support.

This situation presented a very serious problem which the ERA endeavored to meet by developing a program looking toward permanent employment of persons around Old Fort.

During the drought cattle program, the 48,000 hides of cattle processed by ERA, salted and placed in storage in the state, offered the opportunity to reëstablish in Old Fort the industry for which the people were trained.

It was first planned to establish a tannery through the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation for processing these hides and a work room for making the finished material into harness for Rural Rehabilitation clients' work-stock, and leather garments for relief clients with the view of converting these plants into a coöperative tannery and leather garment shop owned by the people.

In February, 1934, after a thorough investigation of all available buildings and building sites, the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation purchased a building for $5,000.00, which, with remodeling and additions, would provide adequate facilities for the industry.

Alterations and additions were made by the N. C. ERA Works Division and the plant equipped for the manufacture of chrome leathers.

As hides are a perishable commodity, it was necessary to have the plant ready to begin operations before warm weather. Early in May, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration set the deadline for starting tanning operations as June 1. At this time, the plant consisted of only one main building without floor or roof, and not a machine in place. Completed plans had been made for a drying room, chemical storage room and supply room but no work had been done. Three shifts of men were employed and the work was carried on 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Technical specialists and engineers were secured by the State ERA to supervise the work.

On May 29, three days before the deadline set by FERA, the first hides were put in pickle and the tannery started actual operation. The cost to ERA in materials, labor, equipment, and installation of equipment was $36,496.23. About the middle of May, two weeks before the plant was completed, the second stipulation of the FERA was that all of the 48,000 hides should be converted into pickled stock not later than January 1, 1936. The plant had not been designed originally to handle production even near the figure necessary to meet this stipulation. In order, therefore, to provide a margin of safety to take care of possible shut-downs, breakdowns, etc., and to insure completion of the pickling on or before the date set, soaking was started at the rate of 400 hides per day. All beam house operations, except fleshing, were done by hand, thus employing a maximum of labor all of which was assigned to the project by the McDowell County ERA office in Marion. These operations included the trimming of raw hides preparatory to the soaking, the handling daily from one lime vat to the next, scraping off the hair on the beam, fleshing, washing, batting and pickling. The project employed about 130 men during this period.

Because of the necessity of breaking in men and the resultant difficulty in handling production to meet the schedule, the plant was at first operated on two eight-hour shifts per day. Many of the men had had previous tanning experience in the old plant, and although they had never worked in a chrome tannery, they formed the nucleus around which the production force was built.

By August 1 it was found that one eight-hour shift could maintain production at the necessary level and the night crew was changed to a day crew to handle the tanning, coloring and finishing operations which follow the pickling. This arrangement allowed practically all the men to continue work. By mid-September it was apparent that all stock would be in pickling condition before January 1, and soaking was reduced to 200 hides per day. The number of labor hours was reduced accordingly, the plant employing almost as many men as before but fewer hours being given each.

When the ERA work program was closed on November 18, an exception was made for the tannery to continue work until all hides were pickled and in condition for storage. The last hide was put in pickle on November 26, thus meeting the second condition imposed by the FERA more than 30 days before the deadline of January 31.

As indicated above, the first production consideration was the conversion of raw to pickled stock in a given time. Little attention was at first given to processing any finished leather. The normal capacity of the plant being not more than 150 hides per day, it is obvious that all working space would be in use if the production in the beam house was almost normal.

Tanning and finishing were started in August and a continuous flow of finished leather came through the plant from then on. Since November 26, the entire space has been devoted entirely to pickling stock. Production has been at the rate of 150 sides (half hides) of grain garment leather, 150 splits (the under side of each hide), and 25 sides of chrome re-tan harness leather per day. The plant was closed on January 9, 1936.

APPRAISAL OF PICKLED AND FINISHED HIDES

Value of stock finished hides (estimate):

Grain sides 55,897 sq. ft. at 13c

$ 7,266.61

Grain sides 14,184 sq. ft. at 13c

1,843.92

Split sides 49,994 sq. ft. at 5c

2,499.70

$ 11,610.23

Value of stock of pickled hides (estimate):

Grain sides 77,592 × 125 sq. ft. = 969,900 sq. ft. at 7c

$ 67,893.00

Split sides 62,496 × 5 sq. ft. = 312,480 sq. ft. at 2c

6,249.60

Pickled hide TOTAL

$ 74,142.60

Value of chemical stock

$ 8,303.12

When the drought cattle were purchased through the Federal Surplus Corporation, the FERA agreed that the finished hides would not be sold on the open markets. Due to the discontinuance of the Emergency Relief Program, the plans for making these hides into harness for rural rehabilitation clients and garments for relief clients could not be carried out. At the time this report goes to press, plans are under way to transfer the entire project to the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation in order that the original plans may be continued.

The project has served many purposes. It has not only provided employment and trained men in jobs which require skill and experience, but it has also been the means of maintaining the self-respect and the financial integrity of the whole community. Many have been able to pay their taxes and save their homes since this plant has been in operation. The ordinary necessities of life, such as food, clothing, and shelter, which had become luxuries, have been adequately provided. It is to be hoped that some arrangement can be made to continue the operations of the tannery on which the future of Old Fort and the community so largely depends.

FIRST AID AT OLD FORT TANNERY

While the majority of accidents occurring in tanneries result from causes common to all industries, there are several hazards that seem to be particular to the leather tanning industry. From the time the hides are received until the finished leather is shipped, conditions are encountered which may be a source of injury or a menace to the health of workers. Dangerous moving machinery, such as paddle wheels, unhairing machines, fleshing machines, splitting machines, roller jacks, etc., are used. Then there are the ever present hazards from slippery floors, chemicals, vats, etc.

With the exception of supervisors, many of those employed at the Old Fort Tannery had never had previous experience in this line of work. These men were employed because they needed the work, and, during their training period especially, were menaces, from an accident standpoint, to themselves as well as their fellow workers. It was obvious, therefore, that a large number of accidents, both minor and major, could be expected. The Safety Department gave careful attention

to the guarding of all machinery, belts, etc., but inasmuch as this could prevent at best only a small part of the expected injuries, other precautions were necessary.

Every cut or abrasion received in handling, trimming or splitting hides is very likely to result in a serious infection unless prompt and efficient first aid is provided. Considering these facts, the Safety Department considered it necessary to operate a very complete First Aid Station at the Old Fort Tannery.

Under the supervision of the Supervisory Nurse for the Safety Department, the Old Fort First Aid Station was opened on June 1, 1935. A small, but modern building was erected next to the tannery building, and two registered nurses were placed in charge, one for each of the two shifts worked. This building was divided into two rooms. The front room was used to treat the minor cuts and scratches, while the rear room, equipped with toilet facilities, sterilizers, hot and cold water, basins, cot, and all necessary first aid material and medicines for relief of minor ailments, was used for the treatment of the more serious cases.

During the time the Old Fort Tannery operated, a total of 94,873 man-hours was reported. A total of 520 injuries was treated at the First Aid Station and 683 additional dressings were made. It is interesting to note that only three injuries were referred to physicians for treatment. This speaks well for the type of first aid rendered at the station. It is also an interesting fact that, although injuries received in handling hides are subject to serious infection, not a single day was lost from this cause.

Of the 520 injuries reported, only two resulted in the loss of time beyond the shift on which the injury occurred. This gives the tannery a frequency of 21.1, which, considering the existing hazards and the fact that employees were not trained in the work they were doing, is indeed an excellent record.

Not only were the nurses engaged in First Aid work, but each employee was carefully studied from a health and mental standpoint with relation to the particular work he was engaged in. In a number of cases it was found necessary to change the work some employees were doing so they would not be a menace, from an injury standpoint, to fellow workers or the individual himself. A safety and health card was kept on each employee, and physical defects, if any, noted and carefully watched. If an employee had several accidents in a short period of time, an investigation was held to ascertain whether or not he could do better and safer work in some other part of the plant. If so, an immediate transfer was made.

It is felt that the small necessary expense of the Old Fort First Aid Station was more than justified, as shown from the above record.

PURCHASING DIVISION

Following the liquidation of CWA, the Division of Purchasing was placed in the Division of Engineering and Purchasing and later coördinated with the Finance Division. In addition to the State Purchasing Agent, the personnel included two Assistant Purchasing Agents and the necessary clerks and stenographers.

All purchases of material, equipment, supplies, and livestock were made according to the usual government procedure of purchasing on specifications and bids. The award was made to the lowest bidder who proposed to furnish materials in accordance with specifications, and against whom no official protest of NRA code violation was registered by the proper code authority. Although closely supervised by the State Purchasing Division, purchases were decentralized to a great extent by authority given to district administrations to purchase locally. This flexible procedure expedited purchasing, and permitted local dealers to bid.

The District Administrator appointed a District Purchasing Agent, or designated one member of the staff who was responsible for all purchases in the district as Purchasing Agent.

The district administrations had the authority to make purchases of $50 or less, however, bids were not required on purchases of $1 or less. The bids, award, and purchase orders were forwarded to the State Purchasing Division for confirmation. Purchase orders for amounts in excess of $50 were usually made by the state office. When the District Administrator was authorized to make purchases in excess of $50, the invitation to bid, the requisition for purchase, the statement of award, and purchase order were forwarded to the state office for approval before authority was given for vendor to deliver. Purchase orders were checked against the amount of materials approved in the project application and with the allocation of funds made to the district to safeguard over-expenditure of funds. Upon completion of purchases, the necessary information and form were submitted to the Auditing Division for examination and payment of invoices.

An inventory of materials, tools, equipment, and livestock was kept. "A Manual for Purchasing Procedure" was issued by the Purchasing Division of the state office to all District Administrators and Purchasing Agents. It was complete in information and constituted the authority for the purchasing procedure of the state administration.

In purchases made by the state office, preference was given to local and state dealers when bids were equal. A bid bond was filed with each bid, and in large contracts a performance bond was required of the vendor. All bidders were required to certify that they were operating under the applicable code.

A permanent inventory was set up, in charge of a state director, for the purpose of keeping complete records of all physical properties belonging to the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration such as tools and equipment, materials, livestock, canneries, office furniture and equipment, and all properties of the same character owned by the North Carolina Rural Rehabilitation Corporation.

Approximately 45 men were used in the field, working directly out of the state office, who, with the coöperation of the district offices, inventoried all properties by visits to warehouses and work projects. Lists of materials, tools, and equipment on active work projects, and also lists of tools, equipment, and materials remaining on hand from completed and incompleted projects were made. These data were forwarded by the field men to the state office, where this information was checked, tabulated, and put into the form of a permanent record, by counties. A summary was made for each district of all properties in each county of the district.

Purchase order records were checked, and a listing of all tools and equipment was made from the purchase orders. A permanent record was made of these tabulations. These listings were compared with the actual physical inventory made by the field men to determine the amount of shortage caused by breakage, loss, and wear and tear.

A card system of perpetual inventory was set up and installed in the state office and in each district office. A Materials Received Report form for property to be transferred in title and to be made available by loan, was printed and distributed to the District Relief Administrators for use in making ERA properties available to other governmental agencies.

Copies of the inventories of office furniture and equipment, materials, tools, and other equipment were supplied the WPA for the state and district offices. Copies of inventories of all properties, such as livestock, feed stuffs, fertilizer, farm equipment and machinery, were supplied the Rural Rehabilitation Division of the Resettlement Administration.

Materials left on hand from uncompleted ERA projects were, when such projects were transferred to the WPA for completion, transferred with the project when actual operation was taken over by the WPA.

Materials left over from completed projects were collected and concentrated in warehouses in each of the districts. These materials were used in continuing and completing ERA projects where additional materials were needed, in order to save additional expenditure for materials.

The WPA has been supplied a large portion of these materials for use on such projects, as the N.C. State Hospital for Insane, Raleigh; Asheville Public Playgrounds; the Negro Recreational Center, Raleigh; the Wilson Water Main and Sewer Extension; Wilson County County-wide School Painting Projects; the Salisbury Sewer Extension and Repair Project; the State Board of Health State-wide Malaria Control Project; the Wake County Road Construction, and other projects throughout the state, including airport projects at Charlotte, Lumberton, and Rocky Mount.

Trucks, machinery, work tools and equipment were made available, Lumberton, through loans, to the WPA as rapidly as these could be released from the ERA work projects. Twenty-six trucks, office furniture, and other equipment were made available to the WPA, through loans, for the Surplus Commodities Project. Equipment and furnishings from the transient centers, such as bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and office furniture, trucks, farm machinery, work tools, etc. were also transferred to the WPA, through loan, for the continuance of the transient work program. As the personnel in the ERA offices was curtailed, office furniture and equipment were made available, through loan, to the WPA for both state and district offices and to the county and state accounting and disbursing divisions of the United States Treasury Department. Transfers of office furniture, equipment, together with machinery, trucks and tools needed in the farm program, have also been made available to the Rural Rehabilitation Division of the Resettlement Administration. Office furniture, materials and equipment, and trucks, and such other items as were needed to carry on work in the several plants of the Fisheries, were transferred to the Self-Help Corporation, to be sold by the Corporation to the North Carolina Fisheries, Inc., a self-help coöperative, organized by the ERA.

The inventory comprises such property in kind and value as follows:

Tools and Equipment

$ 250,532.56

Meat Cannery Equipment

90,000.00

Leather Tannery Equipment

35,000.00

Transient Center Equipment

135,000.00

Motor Trucks

70,400.00

Fisheries Equipment

63,075.00

ERA Livestock

70,000.00

RR Livestock

875,000.00

RR Equipment, Machinery, and Tools

139,000.00

RR Fertilizer

32,915.00

RR Stock Feed

18,300.00

Stock Feed Left Over from Cattle Program

101,332.27

ERA Building Materials

1,000,000.00

ERA Office Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment of all Kinds

50,000.00

Total

$2,930,554.83

Approximately 75 per cent of the materials inventoried has been consumed in completion of ERA work projects or transferred to the WPA and other emergency governmental agencies. Approximately 85 per cent of all tools and equipment, including office furniture and fixtures, has been transferred or loaned to the WPA, Rural Rehabilitation Division of the Resettlement Administration, and other governmental agencies. After all needs of the Federal agencies carrying on activities

formerly carried on by the ERA have been met, the surplus ERA property remaining on hand will be taken in custody by the State of North Carolina, as all property was purchased from Federal funds granted to the state for relief purposes.

CONCLUSION

It is impossible to operate work projects through three different work programs and not gain some experience and arrive at some conclusions concerning the objectives of work programs in general. Since unemployment is one of the major causes of the breakdown of morale and thus a cause of the destruction of human values, it would seem that a major objective of a work program should be not alone an emphasis on the excellence of completed projects, but a primary emphasis on the conservation of these values.

To effect such conservation of values, it is found, as was done during the ERA program, that there must be the closest coöperation between the Works and the Social Service Divisions. While a too rigid line of demarcation cannot be drawn between the activities of these divisions, there are certain definite functions which each must perform if the fullest value is to be realized from a work program.

Selection of workers should be a function of the Social Service Division, even though the workers selected are not in all cases those that a Works Division, thinking primarily of projects, might select. Selection should be entirely on the basis of individual, family and social welfare. It then becomes the duty of the Works Division to make use of these available workers as effectively as possible.

Another function of the Social Service Division, a function to which considerable attention was given during the ERA program, and one which should receive adequate attention in any work program, is that of giving counsel to those individuals and families in need of it. Through such counsel, new view points may be given, and morale strengthened. These, and other like services are indispensable and can be furnished best through a Social Service Division.

With regard to the wage basis, there are doubtless good arguments for both a flat weekly wage, and for wages based on an individual's, or a family's, budgetary deficiency. Experience in this state suggests that budgetary deficiency is the best basis for granting work relief. (While the amounts paid on this basis are frequently criticised by the public, it is felt that there is a more objective basis here than for an arbitrary flat rate paid to different classifications of workers.) Also, such a basis leaves room for the consideration of such individual factors as size of family, family's earning capacity, family problems, etc. If this is to be the basis, then the determination of such deficiency budgets should be a function of the Social Service Division.

The Works Division should be responsible for the proper classification of workers as to skill, experience, ability, and occupational grouping, and as suggested above, attempt to give the workers that employment for which they are fitted.

SAFETY DEPARTMENT April 1, 1934-November 28, 1935

The success of any effort to secure safety, in the final analysis, depends upon the attitude of those at the head of the organization. The Administrator of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration stated in the very beginning of the program that every possible measure should be taken to properly safeguard workers on North Carolina projects. This statement was clear and to the point. While it is true that superintendents and foremen are the ones on whom rests the responsibility for infusing ideas of safety into the men on the job, these supervisors must know that the head of the organization is sincerely interested in accident prevention. The emphatic statement of the Administrator left no doubts in their minds.

A State Director of Safety was appointed by the State Administrator, and he was requested to build an adequate and efficient organization. While all details relative to the safety program were left to the judgment of the State Safety Director, he was assured that, should he find occasion to call upon the State Administrator, he would find the Administrator squarely behind him. In every instance this was found to be true.

ORGANIZATION

The Safety Department was organized on April 1, 1934, with a personnel consisting of the State Safety Director, five field representatives, a supervising nurse and two stenographers. The state was divided into five districts, and each field representative was responsible for one district. Inasmuch as Winston-Salem was almost the center of the state geographically as well as from a case-load standpoint, this city was designated headquarters for the Safety Department.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Not only was the Safety Department charged with the responsibility of seeing that the projects were operated un a safe manner, but all buildings used by the Emergency Relief Administration had to meet the approval of the Safety Department before they could be used for any purpose and were reinspected each month. All transient shelters and camps were subject to inspection by the Safety Department, inspection being made every thirty days. Trucks used for general hauling and transportation of workers had to be certified by the department. A certificate of inspection was in the cab of every truck used.

FIRST AID

Adequate first aid material was available on all projects. While this equipment was generally used by men trained in the American Red Cross Standard First Aid Course, it was necessary in some instances that this material be used by those not qualified as First Aiders. For this reason, unit type material was used. The 10-unit kit was used on a majority of the projects, but a large number of pocket packets were furnished to crews of four or five men scattered over a large area. The 10-unit kit, of 20 gauge metal, contained the following items:

As stated above, this material was not always used by trained first aid men. Therefore, no roller bandage, adhesive tape, alcohol, etc., was used, since this type material should be handled only by those familiar with its use.

The money used for first aid material was money well spent. There is danger of infection in any wound where the skin is broken. The final report of the Emergency Relief program shows that only ten cases of infection, involving the loss of time, were reported. This speaks well for the type material used as well as the manner in which it was used.

In addition to first aid kits, a large number of snake bite outfits were furnished on projects where there was likelihood of encountering snakes. This outfit consisted of plunger type suction pump to withdraw the poison, tourniquet, lancet, iodine and bandages. These kits were metal, and could be carried in the pocket where they would always be available.

When men were engaged in work dangerous to their eyes, such as breaking stone, they were furnished with the very best protective goggles obtainable. Spectacle type goggles with screen side shields were used in most cases. When an employee wore corrective spectacles he was furnished a "cover-all" goggle, thus overcoming possible hazards by reason of the men removing their corrective spectacles and putting on goggles. Nine pairs of goggles were returned to the Safety Department that were broken while in actual use. In each case, with the exception of one, an eye was saved by using this protection. In the one case, blows were received to each lense. Had the goggles not been in use in this case the employee would now be totally blind. Not considering the untold misery from the loss of an eye or both eyes, these nine cases saved in actual money several times the amount spent for goggles during the entire program.

On the larger and most hazardous projects, first aid was rendered by graduate nurses. This work was done under the supervision of the Safety Department's supervising nurse.

FIELD INSPECTION

Even though men have studied and understand safe practices, there is no assurance that they will remember them indefinitely. It is necessary, therefore, to call their attention constantly to the necessity of preventing accidents. In this connection all projects were inspected by the Safety Department, and close inspection was given those projects considered of a very hazardous nature. More than 3,000 projects were inspected by the department's field force, exclusive of sewing rooms, and more than 2,000 recommendations made. In practically every instance major recommendations were carried out immediately, and a follow-up inspection did not find the same conditions existing.

As stated above, every building used by the Emergency Relief Administration was subject to the approval of the Safety Department. More than 650 buildings were inspected, and while most of these were approved, it was necessary to make many repairs, and in some instances to condemn the buildings.

A large number of sewing rooms and mattress workrooms was operated under the Emergency Relief program. These rooms received the close attention of the Safety Department. The supervising nurse visited each room, and in addition to arranging for necessary first aid, gave worthwhile health instruction to the employees. Careful check was made in the interest of preventing fires, with the result that only one room was destroyed by fire, and this started in an adjoining room not being used by the Relief Administration.

TRANSIENT SERVICE

During the Emergency Relief program more than 122,000 transients were cared for in North Carolina by the Transient Bureau. These men and women were housed in eleven shelters and camps throughout the state. Seeing that these people were located in suitable places was quite a problem for the Safety Department. Adequate fire protection had to be provided, sanitary problems had to be solved and work projects safeguarded.

Each shelter and camp was inspected at least monthly by the State Safety Director. Each location was provided with fire-fighting equipment, fire-gongs and, where necessary, approved outside fire escapes.

Inasmuch as there was a more or less constant checking out and receiving of transients, it was necessary to hold at least two fire drills each month so that everyone in the building would be familiar with exits and would know just what to do in case of fire. Fire departments were organized and each floor in each shelter or camp was in charge of a fire lieutenant. Each fire extinguisher was in charge of an individual and when an alarm was sounded the fire extinguishers were immediately manned and ready for action. The floor lieutenant never left his floor until the last man had answered the fire call.

No particular time was set for fire drills. Alarms would sound any time during the night, and it was not unusual to have drills between midnight and day. The State Safety Director, without notice to camp or shelter officials, would occasionally visit the shelters and have special drills. This gave the department a check on the time necessary to empty the building as reported by the supervisor of the shelter. Men, generally, responded to these drills without comment. Occasionally some transient, pulled from a nice warm bed at 3:00 a.m., would have plenty to say. However, most of them realized that these drills were necessary to properly instruct them, and that the State Safety Director was not just having a lot of sport at their expense.

These drills proved of real value as shown by the one fire North Carolina had in its transient camps and shelters. Fire was discovered in one shelter at 5 o'clock in the morning. This was a three-story building and 165 transients were registered. Within four minutes after the alarm was sounded every person in the building had assembled in the front yard of the building. Fortunately the fire did very little damage to the building or equipment. These men had been trained to answer fire alarms promptly, and the alarm sounded the morning of the fire was just another drill to them.

Watchmen with patrol clocks made regular rounds in each shelter and camp. Dials from these clocks were mailed to the Safety Department each week. These dials were carefully checked and missed stations noted. If as many as two stations were missed in any one night or six missed in any one week the Department recommended that a new watchman be secured.

MEAT PROCESSING

During the program of cattle slaughtering and meat canning, a total of 1,481,762 man-hours of exposure was reported to the Safety Department. This program was of a very hazardous nature, involving the use of knives and machinery. Especially was this true when it is considered that, with the exception of a very few, employees had never been engaged in similar work.

The necessity of proper protection was seen in the very beginning by the Director of the Bureau of Engineering and Purchases. Arrangements were made to place a Registered Nurse on each shift in each cannery and abattoir. These nurses treated 8,077 cuts, scratches, etc., and made more than 30,000 additional dressings. It is interesting to note that of the 8,077 cases handled, only 21 resulted in infection. Had this prompt and efficient treatment not been available, the infection rate would have been tremendous, considering that each bone scratch was very likely to become

infected. A total of 36 lost-time accidents was reported. Again first aid played an important part. In three cases large arteries were severed, and had it not been for the presence of trained nurses, it is very likely that three fatalities would have been charged against the program.

All canning machinery was carefully guarded, at the point of operation as well as all transmission. Only one serious injury was chargeable to canning machinery, and this occurred when an operator's helper, against instructions, attempted to oil the machine while in motion, thereby losing two fingers.

ACCIDENTS

During the Emergency Relief program a total of 436 lost-time accidents was reported. While a record of each accident was kept in the office of the Safety Director, lost-time accidents received especial attention. A lost-time accident is one in which the injured employee loses time beyond the remainder of the shift on which he was injured. With an exposure of 39,512,374 man-hours reported, North Carolina had an accident frequency (the number of lost-time accidents per 1,000,000 man-hours of exposure) rating of 11.0. This is a very good record, especially when it is considered that during the early confusion attending the beginning many employees of the program were engaged in work entirely foreign to their training. Cotton mill workers sometimes were digging ditches, office workers worked in gravel pits, department store clerks were cutting trees. As the program developed progress was made in fitting men to the jobs. Naturally these persons were in danger at all times, but with the assistance of project superintendents and foremen they were made "safety-conscious" to the extent that their accident experience was surprisingly low.

MAIN CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

The lost-time accident chart, by main causes, will be found on another page. A study of this chart will show that "Falls of Persons" is given as the major cause, 76 accidents being charged. This includes falls from heights, falls on the surface, and falls "into." "Hand Tools" follows, with a total of 69. Considering the number of hand tools used this is very low. However, this cause would have had a higher rate had it not been for the close inspection given tools. Picks and shovels with broken handles were immediately discarded until they could be repaired. Striking faces of chisels, etc., were not allowed to become mushroomed, and cutting tools were kept in good shape.

DYNAMITE

Several tons of dynamite were used on relief work. Particular attention was necessary here to see that proper transportation was provided, storage facilities adequate, and trained men used to handle blasts. That explosives were handled properly is shown by the fact that only six lost-time accidents are charged to this cause. The most serious of these accidents was the loss of one eye from a premature blast.

TRUCKS

Hundreds of trucks were used for general hauling and transporting workers. Only 25 lost-time accidents were charged against "Vehicles." Trucks were kept in good mechanical condition and only experienced drivers were used. Each driver was required to fill out a "Truck Driver's Questionnaire" before he was employed. If he was unable to answer the questions, he was not allowed to handle ERA trucks.

PASSENGER VEHICLES

Quite a large number of passenger cars was used by the field personnel. Each driver using his or her car on official business answered the questions contained in the "Passenger Car Questionnaire." In addition, each passenger car had to pass a mechanical test by an approved mechanic and approved as being safe to operate on North Carolina highways.

FATALITIES

Two fatalities were charged to the Emergency Relief program. Both of these could have been prevented. In one case a single log was being transported by truck from the woods to the saw mill. An employee decided to ride straddle this log rather than in the cab of the truck where he belonged. As the truck came out of the woods the project foreman saw the employee on the log and stopped the truck and told him to get off and ride in the cab. The foreman, sure his order would be obeyed, walked away. However, the employee refused to change his position and forced the truck driver to proceed. Just as the truck arrived at the mill a slight incline was encountered causing the log to roll against the truck standards, breaking them and throwing log and man to the ground. The employee was instantly killed. This was disobedience of orders.

In the other case a supervisor failed to follow safety orders relative to bracing all trenches five feet or more in depth. The supervisor knew that the trench was deep enough to brace, but felt that the soil was of such a nature that it would be safe for the men to work without timbers. However, without warning a cave-in occurred and one employee was killed.

CONCLUSION

The Safety Department feels that the Emergency Relief Safety program was a success. This success was made possible by the coöperation the department received from the State Administrator and the Director of the Division of Engineering and Purchases, and others in official capacity. As stated in the beginning, any safety program, to be successful, must have the active support of those at the head.

A PLAN FOR THE REHABILITATION OF TENANT FARMERS IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

Following is the outline of a Plan for the Rural Rehabilitation of Tenant Farmers in Eastern North Carolina as submitted in the Fall of 1933 by Dr. Roy M. Brown, Director, Division of Social Service.

This plan was first submitted at a Social Service conference at the University of North Carolina in July of 1933.

I

There are in North Carolina east of Raleigh about 10,000 farm families, mainly tenants for many generations, a few who have gone to the towns and have moved back to the country because they could no longer make a living in town, who this year have had no arrangements with any landlord to make a crop and who have had no other employment sufficient to enable them to earn a subsistence. Two-fifths of these are white; three-fifths are Negro. The prospects are that the number will be increased by the curtailment of cotton and tobacco acreage. There is little prospect that with agricultural recovery anything like a majority of these families will be reabsorbed into agriculture under the present farming system. There is no prospect that they will be absorbed in any appreciable numbers into any other industry. They must be reabsorbed into agriculture. This appears practicable on a live-at-home basis, but only with governmental aid. These families have no capital and no credit. Rehabilitation must be on a relief basis. If anything approaching a solution of the problem is to be accomplished, rehabilitation must be attempted on a quite large scale. The alternative appears to be a permanent dole.

There is submitted herewith a tenative outline of a plan for the rehabilitation of 5,000 families. If this number could be placed on land, those of the remainder who are not so unfit as to be unemployable would perhaps immediately or at least with the recovery of agriculture find employment either as tenants or as farm laborers. As the program gets under way it may be desirable to enlarge it to include greater numbers.

II

1. Create and incorporate under the laws of North Carolina a non-profit corporation with power to accept on gift, or to purchase, hold, and improve land; to settle upon it and direct on a rental or other practicable basis such farm relief families as may appear to the corporation and to the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration to be suitable for such rehabilitation; to equip such land with such livestock, farming implements, machinery, buildings, etc., as may be necessary; and to dispose of such lands to individuals on terms hereinafter provided for.

2. Select from farm families on relief who have no arrangement with any landowner to make a crop and who have no other employment that will provide subsistence a number of families not to exceed 5,000 to be settled on the land provided for under Section 3.

3. Secure by purchase or gift not to exceed 100,000 acres of land of at least fair quality for agricultural purposes. Said lands are to be surveyed and divided into 20-acre tracts, only for the purpose of locating dwelling. The entire area is to be cultivated for the first three years as a unit.

4. Borrow from the Federal Public Works fund, or from some other fund provided by the Federal Government, equipment and for supervision for perhaps three years.

5. The corporation will direct the farming on this land for a period not to exceed thirty-three years. Beginning with the fourth year, one-half of the farm products, exclusive of a subsistence garden, the products of one or more cows to furnish milk and butter for the family, chickens and hogs for home consumption, and fruits for home use, will be charged as rent on the land and to pay for supervision.

6. At the end of the third year the entire acreage will be reclaimed, drained, and in an approximate equal state of cultivation. Allotments to individual families may then be made intelligently.

7. The rent, after deducting the cost of supervision, shall be applied toward the purchase of the land. It should be possible for each family to own its farm at the end of a period not exceeding thirty-three years.

8. The farming shall be of the "live-at-home" type so directed as to interfere as little as practicable with the markets for farm products. Until such time as in the opinion of the Federal Secretary of Agriculture, or such other authority as may be agreed upon, there has been such recovery in agriculture as to warrant selling the surplus products of these farms on the open market, the products received as rents shall be sold at the current market price to the Federal Relief Administration and shall be distributed to those who must be aided from public relief funds.

9. For the purposes of carrying out the preceding section, the corporation may furnish on a community basis facilities for canning and otherwise conserving products of the farms. It may also encourage and promote the coöperative ownership of equipment, livestock, or such other coöperative ownership and enterprises as may appear desirable.

10. Adequate provision must be made to prevent the payment of large salaries to managers or others employed in the program of rehabilitation and in every way to insure the people to be benefited against exploitation of any kind.

11. The money borrowed shall be secured by deed of trust or such lien on the land and equipment and improvements as may be proper.

12. While it is desirable that the land for this purpose be in large tracts for the facilitation of supervision and the promotion of coöperative enterprises, it may be possible to adapt the program to smaller tracts.

13. Provision must be made for both white and Negro families.

A CROPPING PLAN FOR THE REHABILITATION OF 300 TENANT FAMILIES IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA

The plan outlined herein is adequate for the subsistence of 200 families (or 1,000 people). To carry out the plan successfully, a tract of 4,000 or 5,000 acres of land is needed. This is about as large a unit of land as could be secured in one body.

For subsistence of the above families there should be placed on the farm the following livestock: laying hens, 3,000; dairy cows, 100; brood sows, 50; and 100 work mules. To adequately feed this amount of livestock and to supply food for 1,000 people would require that approximately 1,700 acres be cultivated yearly. The remainder of the land would be available for wood, for soil building purposes, and for growing such other crops as would be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture or such other authority as may be agreed upon, for marketing to the Federal Relief Administration and on the open market.

This plan is based upon the assumption that a large tract of land is to be farmed for the first three years on a community basis. If it be found necessary to place the families on separate individual farms, the number of livestock, the acreage of pasturage, and perhaps other items, must be enlarged.

If a real attempt at the solution of the problem of the displaced tenant in the eastern half of the State of North Carolina is to be made on this or some similar plan, provision must be made for at least 5,000 families. This would require twenty-five units of 200 families each. This plan of colonies of 200 families is offered as a suggestion only and may be modified as the plan progresses. When the land is secured this may not appear the most practicable plan. Or such a plan may be practicable in some cases and not in others.

COST

Estimates of the cost of land, houses, livestock, and farm equipment for a unit of 200 families range from $150,000 to $200,000. A detailed estimate submitted by the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering places the total cost, including $22,000 for tractors and tractor-drawn machinery, at $171,515. Omitting the more elaborate farm machinery the cost on this estimate is reduced to approximately $150,000. This estimate is based upon the assumption that it may be practicable to secure land with timber from which most of the lumber for buildings could be cut and that a great deal of the work may be done by the settlers.

A second estimate with greater emphasis on housing places the cost for a 200-unit at $200,000.

STATE COLLEGE ESTIMATE

Land, 5,000 acres

$ 50,000

Houses and other buildings

60,000

Livestock

29,500

Farm equipment

10,500

Total

$150,000

SECOND ESTIMATE

Land, 5,000 acres

$ 50,000

Homes

100,000

Other buildings

10,000

Livestock

25,000

Equipment

10,000

Miscellaneous

5,000

Total

$200,000

On these estimates the total cost for 5,000 families would be a minimum of $3,750,000, a maximum of $5,000,000.

RURAL REHABILITATION DIVISION

PLANNING FOR RURAL REHABILITATION IN NORTH CAROLINA

* The material herewith presented was taken chiefly from "Pioneering in Rural Rehabilitation in North Carolina," which was published while the Rural Rehabilitation Program was still in operation, and before the Rural Resettlement Administration had assumed active control of the whole rural program. For this reason the report is written in the present, rather than the past, tense. Also the designation RR, adopted for brevity, signifies Rural Rehabilitation and not Rural Resettlement.

In preparing for a rural rehabilitation program in North Carolina, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was not called upon to draw idealistic plans for ideal communities but to prepare to meet practical problems as they are found in the cases of innumerable rural families throughout the State. Along with innumerable rural families which had been living on margin, it was felt that there were hundreds of other farm families which needed only slight help and encouragement to become self-sustaining. It was for this group of people particularly that plans were made.

Recognizing the fact that a first step in attacking the problem was to find out the extent and nature of the problem, a research study, under the direction of Mr. Gordon Blackwell, was authorized by the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. The chief objective of this study was to determine the extent to which persons on relief could be rehabilitated on the land. A digest of this report follows:

Scope of Study: This study of rural relief families in North Carolina was carried on in 1934 in eleven rural counties. The various agricultural regions of the State were sampled. It is believed that these eleven counties represent a fair cross section of the rural population of the State. There were approximately 3,600 relief families in the area studied. Fifty-one per cent were found capable of making a living at farming; following data concern this select group, 1,850 families.

Education: Average grade attainments: husbands, around the fourth grade, wives, around the fifth grade; reached high school: husbands, 10 per cent, wives, 13 per cent; attended college: both parents, one in every 275; school enrollment: children 7-13, 93 per cent, 14-15, 74 per cent, 16-17, 40 per cent, 18-20, 15 per cent; educational retardation: children, 7-16, inclusive, 28 per cent no retardation, 23 per cent retarded one year, 17 per cent retarded two years, 12 per cent retarded three years, 9 per cent retarded four years, 5 per cent retarded five years, 6 per cent retarded six years or more.

A special study of more than 1,800 school children, representing the total enrollment in this age group for nine representative schools scattered over Iredell County, reveals that children of relief families now enrolled in school are retarded much more than children of non-relief families.

Illiteracy rate, all individuals 10 years old and over: varies between 10 and 20 per cent; is always several points higher than the 1930 census figures for the whole population of the country.

Economic Insecurity: Income: $133 for 1933 is the average per family, $28.32 is average per capita; tenure: large number displaced tenants, lack of employment for agricultural laborers, trend shows that relief families rent land from relatives more and more frequently; housing: less than one-half

have available toilet facilities of any kind; rating of houses: good 16 per cent, fair 39 per cent, poor 45 per cent; possessions: few possessions owned by relief families, furniture inadequate in one-fifth of the cases, livestock perhaps needed more than anything else; debts: landowners, approximately 40 per cent have place mortgaged for 45 per cent of its value; 79 per cent of all families owe debts (other than mortgages) averaging $77; type of debts: 3 out of 5--medicine or medical attention, 1 out of 3--groceries or clothing, 1 out of 3--back taxes, a few owe debts for farm supplies, burial expenses, furniture, and petty personal loans; insurance (data complete for only 3 counties including 665 families): 3 out of 5 have never had any kind of insurance, 1 out of 5 has had insurance but has been forced to allow the policy to lapse, 1 out of 5 has insurance now in force; type of insurance: burial insurance is most common and life insurance next, policies which have been allowed to lapse are usually of the life variety--more than half have lapsed during the depression--peak year, 1934.

Social Situation: Membership in social, fraternal, or religious organizations (other than church membership): one relief family in every ten has some member belonging to such organizations; one in ten has allowed such membership to lapse, half of these having lapsed during the depression; social contacts for mountain families are most rare.

The Church: Nine out of 10 relief families have some member belonging to a church; church membership: husbands 63 per cent, wives 89 per cent, children (10 years old and over) 35 per cent; one-half are Baptist, one-fourth are Methodist, others are scattered in a large number of denominations.

General Classification of Relief Families as to Capability of Rural Rehabilitation: Only five per cent of relief families was classified as non-farmers. Their rehabilitation probably can be best accomplished outside of agriculture.

Forty-four per cent of all relief families was classified as not capable of rural rehabilitation, falling either in the aged, no male provider, or disabled groups. Since the date of this study, some of these have been turned back to the counties as unemployables. The majority, however, still are on relief rolls as they can be partially self-supporting. Nevertheless, most of them will always have to rely to some extent upon the aid of relatives, friends, or the government.

And finally 51 per cent appears capable of rural rehabilitation, that is, it seems probable that they should be able to make a living by farming or by a combination of farming and work in a seasonal industry. These families are therefore of interest to the Rural Rehabilitation Division. The following definition was adhered to in determining whether or not a family should be placed in this classification:

A family to be capable of rural rehabilitation must measure up to three qualifications: (1) there must be an able-bodied male between the ages of 16 and 59, inclusive; (2) from the point of view of health, the family as a unit must appear capable of farming a crop large enough for its support; and (3) the family must have had at least one year of farming experience.

It should be noted that personal factors such as mental ability, initiative, and character are not considered in determining this classification. Such factors, however, are taken into account in rating these families as discussed below. Henceforth, we shall consider only this group of 1,850 relief families who are classified as capable of rural rehabilitation and who comprise 51 per cent of the relief load of the eleven counties.

Tenure of Relief Families Capable of Rural Rehabilitation: Of these relief clients who appear capable of rural rehabilitation, 12 per cent are small farm owners with an average amount of cleared land of approximately 25 acres and an average total acreage of approximately 55 acres; 19 per cent are rural home owners with an average cleared acreage of 6 acres and an average total acreage of 22 acres;

1 Of every ten tenants, one is a cash renter, two are share tenants, six are croppers, and one comes under the heading of "other."

cultivating an average of 15 acres; and 24 per cent are agricultural laborers almost all of whom have been squeezed out of the tenant system since 1929.2

2 Most of the families in this last group are commonly called displaced or dispossessed tenants.

Opinions Concerning Relief Families Classified as Capable of Rural Rehabilitation: Landlords or farm employers were contacted for approximately three-fourths of these families. Reports were obtained from case workers and work project foremen for almost all. If a case had been under the rural rehabilitation program during the year, a report from the farm supervisor was obtained. It is felt that a composite of opinions from these various sources should give an idea of the general capability and potentialities of the families. Following is a summary of the rating given these reports:

Rating

Source of Report

Favorable Per Cent

Medium Per Cent

Unfavorable Per Cent

Landlords and farm employers

39

41

20

Case workers

41

36

23

Work project foreman

57

35

8

Farm supervisors

44

41

15

All reports

46

37

17

On the whole, reports from small farm owners are best, for rural home owners next, and poorest for families in the tenant or agricultural laborer groups. These differences, however, are very slight indeed, variation being confined to three or four per cent.

Final Rating of Families as Prospects for Rural Rehabilitation: It should be called to mind again that 51 per cent of all relief families were classified as capable of rural rehabilitation and were individually studied. After completing the entire investigation for such a family, the field worker weighed carefully all the evidence and gave the family a final rating as a prospect for rural rehabilitation in the broad sense of the term. Just what can the rural rehabilitation program do for the family and what are the chances of the family succeeding? Answers to these two questions determined in the final analysis the rating given a family. Considering, then, need and capability, 28 per cent of these families was rated as good prospects, 42 per cent fair, and 30 per cent poor. Families in the tenant and agricultural laborer groups were rated slightly lower than landowners.

A total of 140 or approximately 11 per cent of the tenants and agricultural laborers classified as capable of rural rehabilitation was rated excellent prospects for permanent rehabilitation with the chance of eventually owning their own farm. These families appear certain of making a go of it even without much supervision. Although a relatively small number, 140 out of 1,277 tenants and agricultural laborers classified as capable of rural rehabilitation, these excellent prospects stand out as an avenue by which the government can make its first advance toward abolishing the evils of the tenant system in the South. In colonization or homestead projects in which fairly close supervision and guidance are available at the beginning, perhaps 50 per cent more, or 639 of these 1,277 tenants and agricultural laborers can eventually also become farm owners. To aid such families to become independent landowners will be both financial and human economy.

THE LIVE-AT-HOME PROGRAM

IN JANUARY, 1929, Governor O. Max Gardner held a meeting of state agricultural leaders to discuss ways and means of improving farming conditions and rural life in North Carolina. At this conference it was decided among other things that a long-time agricultural program for the state should be inaugurated. The State College Agricultural Department, employing the assistance and suggestions of successful farmers, was asked to prepare this program.

A detailed, long-time program was studied by agricultural leaders and it was decided to launch a well-organized Live-At-Home program, this effort to be a major undertaking until the state became as nearly as possible 100 per cent self-supporting in the production of food and feed.

In December, 1929, the Live-At-Home program was launched, with Dean I. O. Schaub, of State College, as active chairman, and the campaign was carried to all North Carolina counties. In carrying out this program, Dean Schaub had the hearty coöperation of the press of the state, the Vocational Education Division, the State Department of Education, the State Department of Agriculture, county agricultural advisory boards, the State Health Department, civic groups, manufacturing and industrial groups, and other agencies.

In an address to State leaders, Governor Gardner said in part: "The idea in the phrase Live-At-Home as it is being applied to agriculture in North Carolina today, is not a new or original idea. The fact that it is not new, however, is unimportant. Few of our ideas or our beliefs or our programs are new. Our new ideas are usually old notions adapted to new problems.

"Agriculture-farming in this state is faced today with many exceedingly difficult problems. Out of the thinking and planning and speaking about these problems by the leaders of the state, the phrase Live-At-Home was coined.

"The Live-At-Home program has for its main purpose the encouraging of all of us engaged in farming to grow for ourselves and to supply ourselves with all the food and feed-stuffs and livestock products necessary for family and farm consumption the year round. It would also encourage us to grow enough surplus to supply the small towns and the cities which are our logical markets; and it would encourage the city folks of this state to give a preference to the North Carolina farmer in their purchase of the supplies which he grows."

LARGE-SCALE REHABILITATION TRENDS IN NORTH CAROLINA

Along with such plans as the Live-At-Home program, has gone an increasing conviction that thorough planning must be done for thousands of North Carolina's displaced tenants, small farmers and others of that marginal group which makes its living from the land. Such a plan contemplating supervised, coöperative farm colonies, with money and capital goods advanced, to be secured by liens on the land and property, the plan being self-liquidating, was first submitted to a Social Service Conference at the University of North Carolina in July, 1933. The plan in outline form was then prepared for publication by Dr. Roy M. Brown, Director, Division of Social Service, N. C. ERA, and Charles A. Sheffield, Assistant to the Director of Extension, State College, working with Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, State Administrator, N. C. ERA. The plan is submitted in its entirety on page 281.

THE RURAL REHABILITATION PROGRAM, APRIL-DECEMBER, 1934

Beginning on April 1, 1934, the forementioned plan which had been forming for some time was put into effect. The relief program in rural areas was supplemented by a program of rural rehabilitation under direction of the Rural Rehabilitation Division. The aim was to make as many relief families as possible, with one or more able-bodied men, self-supporting by December 1. The result was that 10,354 families were temporarily removed from relief rolls, while 2,965 were permanently rehabilitated.

Relief families with farming experience were encouraged from the beginning to grow field crops. Signed agreements were made with landowners, securing the use of land in return for clearing or ditching the land, repairing buildings, or for a share of the crop.

A total of 6,469 agreements was signed covering 52,868 acres. Under these agreements, which were in the form of leases between landlord and tenant, 3,269 tenants gave a share of their crops, while 531 cleared or ditched land or gave other services for use of the land. Some landlords, financially able, with surplus land, coöperated splendidly by giving the use of land free to 1,737 tenants on relief, permitting them to retain all the crops.

During the effort to place families on farms as tenants through signed agreements between landlord and tenant, 11,856 additional families and 124 single persons were secured farm lands through share-crop agreements, thus increasing the number to 18,325 families and single persons growing field crops on 145,098 acres, or an average of 7.9 acres per farm.

To get the desired acreage, however, some families had to cultivate two or three separate tracts, on as many different farms, which sometimes consisted of very poor land. Very few of the families placed on farms had any work stock, or could secure the use of a neighbor's mule in exchange for work. Some had farm implements, but most had neither stock nor implements. The landlord in many cases provided work stock, but even then there was not enough to cultivate the acreage, only 7,077 mules, horses, or steers being obtainable for 18,000 farms and 31,000 gardens.

Through the State ERA office, 1,000 horses and mules, and some farm implements were purchased and distributed. Local relief administrations purchased 51 mules and 26 steers, and some farm implements to aid in the program. Some work stock plowed for as many as three or four families each week, such animals being known as ERA community stock.

During the planting period for field crops, family gardens were not neglected. Emphasis was laid on the necessity for each family to plant a garden or lose the right to any relief. The result was gratifying, in that 30,389 families and 972 single persons had gardens averaging an acre each. This was in addition to the 18,325 families who were farming, each of whom had a garden.

Through an educational campaign, all these relief cases, 49,686, were encouraged to own a cow, pigs and chickens. They were also stimulated to grow in their gardens and on their farms all food and feed crops possible, expert direction being given to the preserving of surplus products for winter use.

Seeds and plants were furnished by ERA to all relief families, and in some instances where it was impossible for the landlord or client to furnish fertilizer, the ERA furnished it. Some local relief administrations, in order to give work to many families with farming experience, not otherwise provided with work, cultivated 3,718 acres in community gardens to raise food and feed for relief purposes.

Where advances were made to the client, such as fertilizer, feed for his livestock until some could be raised, food, clothing, medicine, etc., repayment was to be made either in kind or by work done on ERA projects. Every person participating in this program understood that he or she must do everything possible to raise necessities, the ERA promising to assist and coöperate where necessary. All advances of cash and goods were to be rapid. It was made clear that this program was not in the nature of a dole, but a coöperative enterprise between the individual and his government to help overcome the problems attendant upon the depression.

To obtain satisfactory results in any program, particularly an effort of this nature, a certain amount of competent supervision is necessary. Hence, during the planting and growing season a farm foreman, or farm supervisor, visited each garden and farm from time to time to see that planting and cultivating were being properly attended to, and to give counsel and advice. Special assistance

and encouragement were given those whose crops were affected by drought, or excessive wet spells, during the summer when many crops were practically destroyed or cut very short in the yield.

The harvest of field crops was considered to be very good despite bad weather, poor land, and the shortage of work stock, farm implements, etc. The results obtained in this particular program speak well of the pride, determination and industry of those who, starting practically from nothing, evinced a desire to help themselves if means were provided.

The value of crops raised, estimated from available data, was more than $5,500,000.00. The meat produced was worth over $225,000.00. Housewives canned vegetables and fruit valued in excess of $500,000.00. Farms under the control of local relief administrations yielded more than $176,000.00 worth of food and feed crops for relief purposes.

The results of a county canning program are given here in the report of Iredell County. The figures included here show what is possible in a well-organized effort to can subsistence foods. An interesting thing to note is that in cases where canning instruction was given in the home, the canning instruction was adapted to the available facilities, and not to ideal canning facilities. Another profitable by-product of canning effort is the fact that a real desire to conserve fruits and vegetables has been stimulated.

Following are given the figures, in quarts, of foodstuffs canned in the 1934 program in Iredell County:

Vegetables and Fruits Canned from Individual Gardens, 1934

Quarts

Beans

29,444

Beets

1,441

Apples

11,436

Berries

1,086

Cucumbers

1,271

Peaches

7,424

Plums

23

Corn

23,504

Grapes

320

Okra

1,503

Squash

6

Tomatoes

6,735

Kraut

276

Carrots

31

Soup Mixture

4,578

Apricots

3

Pears

6,041

Damsons

196

Pumpkin

1,248

Peas

4,810

Relish

71

Potato

3,770

Pickles

1,794

Greens

374

Persimmons

39

Rhubarb

32

Butterbeans

2

Pepper

4

Total Quarts Canned from Individual Gardens 107,462

County or Community Gardens

Quarts

Beets

429

Beans

3,115

Cucumbers

146

Corn

2,364

Peaches

103

Apples

108

Soup Mixture

1,489

Tomatoes

855

Okra

131

Figs

3

Pickles

12

Pears

64

Total Quarts Canned from County or Community Gardens 8,819

Bought or Donated

Beans

1,628

Total Quarts Bought or Donated 1,628

Canning centers, 16.

Canning demonstrated, etc., in relief homes, 83.

NOTE. In canning the above products, 70 per cent of the containers used was glass, thus allowing those containers to be used again after being sterilized.

The foregoing material indicates the thoughtful attention which was being given to the long-time solution of rural problems. The consensus of informed opinion was that nothing less than a well-conceived plan, comprehensive in scope, efficient and self-liquidating in its application, and adapted to the problems existing in the various sections of the state, would suffice. Out of the foregoing developments, laying emphasis as they did on both individual rehabilitation and group rehabilitation in well-organized farm colonies, and in line with the general rural rehabilitation program of the Federal Government, the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation came into being, designed to give effect to the present and future rural program in this state.

The Rural Rehabilitation Division was a major division of the N. C. ERA. The Rural Rehabilitation Corporation was organized as a finance corporation to handle all the business activities of the division. Like many other chartered corporations it was permitted a wide scope of activities. All financing of clients was through the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation so that the client's indebtedness was through one organization.

The officers and directors of the Corporation are non-salaried, administering the affairs of the Corporation as part of their regular duties. The expense of administrative personnel was paid from the special earmarked Division fund.

NORTH CAROLINA RURAL REHABILITATION--STATE FUNCTIONS

THE FOLLOWING section gives in detail the administrative setup indicated on the foregoing chart, as well as specifying the extent and nature of the Corporation's relationships.

A. STATE RURAL REHABILITATION STAFF. (1) State Director: The State Director of Rural Rehabilitation is responsible to the State Administrator of Relief and to the Board of Directors of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation. He is responsible for the coördination of all of the functions of the Rural Rehabilitation Division and of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation; for administrative decisions and directions; for plans, progress, procedure; and for all other rural rehabilitation activities carried on in coöperation with other governmental agencies. (2) Executive Assistant: The State Rural Rehabilitation Staff, in addition to the State Director, consists of an executive assistant to whom is assigned the following departmental heads: (a) Assistant in charge of the rehabilitation of individual farm families in place (i.e., on farms where they live, or on farms obtained for them), (b) Assistant in charge of re-location and rehabilitation of stranded farm families in organized communities, (c) Assistant in charge of work centers and self-liquidating rural rehabilitation works projects, (d) Assistant in charge of home economy and home making.

The necessary specialists and trained personnel required to carry on the work of the divisions listed above, together with the necessary clerical and professional assistants, are made available as

needed to put into effect the activities undertaken. The assistants in charge of the several divisions study and pass upon all activities coming within the scope of that particular division, which activity is finally cleared through the state director.

B. RURAL REHABILITATION FIELD STAFF. The field staff consists of the necessary technically trained personnel to exercise general supervision over all Rural Rehabilitation activities undertaken throughout the state. This staff serves as a liaison between the district administrations and the state office.

C. RURAL REHABILITATION DISTRICT STAFF. The district staff consists of the following: (1) Trained district farm supervisors, (2) Trained district home economists.

The farm supervisors and home economists exercise supervision over the activities undertaken within their administrative districts.

D. RURAL REHABILITATION COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS. Farm foremen working under the supervision of the District Farm Supervisor, and in coöperation with the County Farm Demonstration Agent, supervises the farm activities within the county unit. And in like manner one or more home makers, working under the District Home Economists and in coöperation with the County Home Demonstration Agent is assigned to each county unit to carry on the home making activities.

E. PERSONAL APPROVAL. (1) All field representatives are appointed by the state administration. (2) All county and district personnel is appointed by the district administration and approved by the state administration.

F. RELATION TO THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIVISION. All Rural Rehabilitation clients are first recommended by the Social Service Division of the Emergency Relief Administration for review. Those approved by the District Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor are referred to the County Rural Rehabilitation Advisory Committee for consideration and must be approved by the district administrator and referred to the State Director of Rural Rehabilitation.

G. COUNTY RURAL REHABILITATION ADVISORY COMMITTEES. County Rural Rehabilitation Advisory Committees in each county are formed from the following groups: County Farm Demonstration Agents; County Home Demonstration Agents; Vocational Agricultural Teachers; Home Economics Teachers and Representatives; citizens from farm organizations, business groups and women's organizations.

H. FAMILY BUDGET. Individual family budgets are prepared by the county field staff, reviewed by the county advisory committee, submitted to the district administrator and if approved by the administrator, forwarded to the state office for final approval.

I. RELATION TO THE WORKS DIVISION OF THE ERA. Construction and other works activities involving engineering, planning, and construction are supervised and executed by the Works Division of the ERA.

J. RELATION TO THE FINANCE DIVISION OF THE ERA. All finances of state corporations are disbursed to the district through a duly elected treasurer of the corporation and accounted for by the district through the bonded officials of the Finance and Auditing Division of the ERA. All repayments by rural rehabilitation clients to the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation are made through and accounted for by the Finance and Accounting Division of the ERA.

K. RELATION TO THE STATISTICAL DIVISION OF THE ERA. All rural rehabilitation statistics are cleared through and are recorded by the Statistical Division of the ERA.

L. RELATION TO PUBLIC DIVISION OF THE ERA. All rural rehabilitation publicity is collected by and released through the Public Relations Division of the ERA.

M. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES. Activities with other governmental agencies, such as the Farm Credit Administration, Federal Surplus Land Corporation, Soil Erosion Service, etc., are undertaken in accordance with signed agreements entered into between the Rural Rehabilitation Division of the State ERA and the governmental agency in question.

N. EXECUTION OF RURAL REHABILITATION CORPORATION FUNCTIONS. All functions of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation are executed by the Rural Rehabilitation Director through the District and State Administrations.

O. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RURAL REHABILITATION CLIENT AND RURAL REHABILITATION CORPORATION. When a relief client is approved by the State Rural Rehabilitation Division for rehabilitation, he is removed from the relief rolls and all advances from this point on are made from Rural Rehabilitation Corporation funds, secured by proper liens, notes and chattels, and are to be repaid to the Corporation and used by the Corporation as a revolving fund. The supervisory staff of the Rural Rehabilitation Division supervises all activities of approved rural rehabilitation clients.

REHABILITATION PLANS UNDER THE CORPORATION

EXPERIENCE gained in rural rehabilitation efforts in this and other states during these last years has led steadily to the conviction that no one plan will answer adequately the needs of all persons, or of geographically separated communities, which figure in a general program. For persons are as sectional in their thinking and actions as are localities. Added to this fact are individual temperamental differences which serve to reinforce sectional tradition. Also in separate sections of the state, farming practices, varied crops and farming traditions, add themselves to the universally admitted individualism of the farmer, to render the application of any one general plan extremely unwise.

Recognizing this fact, and to meet the problem, the program of rural rehabilitation under the Rehabilitation Corporation is so divided as to give it the necessary degree of elasticity. There are four major sections of the general plan:

1. The rehabilitation of families on individual farms;

2. The re-location and rehabilitation of stranded farm families in organized communities;

3. Rural work centers, in conjunction with farming, where small industries for the benefit of the rural community will be fostered, and self-liquidating rural rehabilitation work projects operated;

4. The department of home economy and home making.

I. REHABILITATION OF FAMILIES ON INDIVIDUAL FARMS

Approximately 90 per cent of the persons already approved for rehabilitation are located on individual farms. It is not always necessary to move a family from its present location or to a farm colony in order to successfully rehabilitate it. Frequently debt adjustment, an agreement with the landlord, the purchase of needed implements, stock, or fertilizer, are all that is necessary. Where this can be done it is done.

In the period elapsing from the beginning of the Rural Rehabilitation Program under the Corporation, and February 25, 1935, when the weekly reports were begun, 4,025 families were accepted. The chart on page 299, giving week-by-week data, reveals the steady growth in the number of clients approved.

A prime consideration governing the selection of clients, and one implicit in the whole program, is the desire to preserve the home as a significant social unit, providing that type of life in pleasant surroundings most conductive to the development of healthy, intelligent, and independent citizens. It is felt, and for ample reason, that if the home can be preserved, then, in most cases a piece of basic and profitable social work will have been done.

* This figure represents total cancellations to date, and not merely for the week in which the figure is shown on the report.

* These allotment averages for subsistence show a slight decrease, because of the fact that these items are approved only for the period covered by the budgets.

RURAL REHABILITATION FARM COLONIES AND WORK CENTERS

As INDICATED previously, in the operation of the Rural Rehabilitation Program, relief families are located (1) on individual farms; (2) with small groups on selected land; and (3) in large colonies. Soil and other conditions obtaining in certain sections of the state render it advisable to concentrate clients in these areas in colonies where, with greater possibility of a well-rounded rehabilitation program, more effective work can be done.

The colony rehabilitation plan will provide the following features:

a. Individual farm ownership under group management.

b. The advantages and economies of ownership, by the group, of heavy farm equipment with a minimum capital outlay per family.

c. Rehabilitation of families, socially, economically, morally, and educationally by group instruction from agriculture economists, social workers, educators and home economists.

d. Work centers for increasing the earnings of colony members, by providing part-time employment, and by securing higher returns through processing their farm products, and for rendering services to a community which are not otherwise available.

e. Recreation advantages from park areas to be provided in all colony projects. Social contacts and coöperation will be through group meetings.

At the present time there are three farm colony projects in the process of development. These are located in Wake County on the Beale Johnson Farm, in Halifax County on the Tillery Farm, and in Tyrrell County on the Magnolia Farm.

BEALE JOHNSON FARM COLONY

This farm is located in Wake County, 13 miles south of Raleigh on paved highway No. 21. There are 582 acres owned by the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation in this tract, and options have been secured on 278 adjoining acres making a total of 860 acres to be incorporated in this project. It is anticipated that approximately 30 to 32 families will be located in this colony. Surveys are now being made to determine the number of families that the land will advantageously support. The size of each farm will be approximately 30 acres. The estimated gross income from each individual farm per annum should be approximately $1,400.00. This would be supplemented by part-time employment in the work center and some increased value of their farm products by processing same at the work center.

WORK CENTER

Near the center of this tract of land is to be located the work center consisting of a canning plant, wood working, and blacksmith shop, cane mill, hatchery, potato storage house, flour, feed and corn mill and a community house in which will be located a library, sewing room and an assembly room. During the summer months education and recreation camps are to be conducted for underprivileged members of relief families. The buildings composing this work center are being artistically grouped in an area surrounding the lake on this place in accordance with plans of our landscape architect.

The operation of this work center will give full-time employment to about 3 or 4 persons and part-time employment to the other members of this colony. The facilities here provided will enable the members of this colony to very materially enhance the value of their farm products by processing the same with their own labor with the use of the facilities here provided.

Group Farming Equipment: A number of units of heavy farming equipment, such as tractors, fertilizer distributors, stalk cutters, corn planters, threshing machines and hay balers, etc., will be acquired for the use of families in this colony to enable them to obtain the advantages and economies these machines afford in connection with their farm operation. This machinery will be group-owned and the investment amortized by reasonable charges for their use by each family.

Social and Educational Advantages: Near the center of this colony will be located a community house equipped with a library, reading room, sewing room and assembly room. In this building the families of this colony will have the advantage of various social activities under the direction of a social and home economics worker. There will also be conducted at this place at various times classes or lectures in educational subjects that will be instrumental in the development of the families in

this colony. Vocational teachers from the county, and State Agriculture College will be available for conducting classes in vocational subjects.

Recreational Advantages: A portion of the area of this farm bordering on the lake will be set up in a park where the members of this colony can congregate and conduct recreational programs that they may formulate from time to time. Swimming, bathing, boating and fishing facilities will be available at this park.

Group Marketing: The entire colony will be operated under the direction and management of a competent man experienced in farm operations and marketing, and members of this colony will have the advantage of coöperative marketing of their farm products through this manager and the advantages of group buying of fertilizer and other supplies needed in the operation of their farms.

Group Ownership: The work center, park area, heavy equipment, etc., owned by the colony will be controlled through a corporation owned by the members of this colony. The work center is planned on a self-liquidating basis through a system of tolls, and ownership will therefore eventually pass to the coöperatively owned corporation.

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY WORK CENTER?

A Rural Community Work Center is a small coöperative enterprise, mainly industrial in nature, for rural communities. It is established on a self-liquidating business basis and upon liquidation becomes locally owned and operated. Community Work Centers may be established where communities are sufficiently interested to furnish building material and necessary donated labor according to their ability, all subject to the approval of the North Carolina Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, and where a sufficient number of families are being rehabilitated.

OBJECTIVES FOR CENTERS

To provide means and equipment by which rehabilitation and other families can help themselves: Making use of raw materials in the community not being utilized; develop skill in making useful articles for themselves; supplying needs which families could not satisfy otherwise; exchange services and materials by a planned system of barter; establishing a market for the sale and exchange of surplus products which will help provide a cash income; providing facilities for participation in group activities in Health, Education and Recreation; providing profitable occupation for spare time.

MAGNOLIA FARM

This farm is located in Tyrrell County, South Fork Township. There are 1,200 acres owned by the Corporation in this farm. In addition to this, 10,000 acres adjoining have been deeded to the Corporation by Tyrrell County on the condition that this land be cleared and developed. Options have been obtained on 1,003 acres of additional lands adjoining this property making a grand total of 12,030 acres in this development. This project will provide farms for approximately 300 families with an average of 40 acres each. The estimated gross income from each individual farm should average approximately $1,500.00 per annum. In addition to this, these farm families should be able to obtain some income from part-time work at the work center. This colony will also be provided with a work center, group-owned farming equipment and other advantages as enumerated above in connection with the Beale Johnson Project.

Recreation: Adjoining this property is a large lake known as Lake Phelps that is owned by the State of North Carolina. The Department of Conservation and Development contemplates developing an area around this lake as a State or National Park. This will afford excellent recreational

advantages to the members of this colony in the way of fishing, boating and swimming. It will also have this and other advantages mentioned in connection with the Beale Johnson Farm.

TILLERY FARM COLONY

The Tillery Farm Colony, embracing the Tillery Farm, the Pierce Farm, the Jones Farm and the Fenner Farm, located in Halifax County, midway between Scotland Neck and Halifax, is the scene of one of the most important enterprises of the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation. This farm has 5,047 acres of land, located on the Roanoke River, all of which is leased for three years with an option to purchase.

An organized rural community, under expert supervision, is proposed at Tillery Farm, following the same general plans as obtain at the Beale Johnson Farm. Approximately from 200-300 families will be cared for at the Tillery Farm.

At present 8 families have been placed on the Beale Johnson Farm, 40 on the Magnolia Farm, and 87 on the Tillery Farm.

THE RURAL HOME ECONOMICS PROGRAM, WITH AN INDICATION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE SUPERVISOR, THE RURAL REHABILITATION SUPERVISOR, AND THE HOME ECONOMIST

AS AN IMPORTANT and integral part of the rural rehabilitation grogram, trained and experienced Home Economists have been assigned to each of the 32 ERA districts in North Carolina. These persons will have charge of organizing and directing home economics services for all relief and rural rehabilitation clients. Each will have a home maker directly in charge of the work in a county with perhaps several junior home makers, this depending upon the nature and size of the problem in the various localities.

The work of the Social Service Supervisor, the Home Economist, and the Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor is parallel. Each department of activity will have its particular function and will not duplicate the activities of the other. As these persons are all working with the same clients, there is the necessity for the most complete coöperation and understanding in carrying out plans for the families.

A. Duties of the Social Service Supervisor, the Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor, and the Home Economist in relation to rehabilitation families:

1. The Social Service Supervisor: It is the responsibility of this officer to direct the activities of those case workers having to do with rehabilitation clients, in giving such advances in the form of food and clothing, as the budget may indicate; of working with the family on problems of individual and family adjustment; of helping in the formation and carrying out of family plans of a social rehabilitation nature, and in short of performing any advisory, analytical or other services as will best assist the family in its social progress.

2. The Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor: A primary function of this officer is to counsel with the case worker and the prospective rehabilitation client, regarding the client's fitness and aptitude for rural rehabilitation. After the client is accepted, this Supervisor advises with the case worker and client in the matter of the budget, which budget is then sent to the state office for approval. After final approval, it becomes the duty of this Supervisor, working with farm foremen to oversee all of the agricultural activities of the client, to recommend plans, to transmit state policies, and in general to exercise such competent control of the farming done under his supervision, as will guarantee, by using the best farming methods, that, all other conditions being favorable, the client will receive the maximum return for energy and capital expended. The farm foreman in each county will be expected to keep such contact with each client, as will allow him to advise the client when the client's

crop is in proper condition, of opportunities for gainful employment by the day, and will aid the client to find such employment.

3. The Home Economist: It is a primary function of this officer to keep in close contact with the Social Service Supervisor, in selecting typical rural rehabilitation clients, and relief clients to be visited. Before visiting families, the Home Economist will talk with the case worker, and study to become familiar with case records and family budget plans of families selected. With the limitations in mind as set by the relief subsistence allowance to the family, or set by the subsistence items approved on the family's rehabilitation budget, the Home Economist will find out by personal interviews whether the families are using their allowances for the best interests of their health and social welfare.

The Home Economist will demonstrate to clients only those methods of home economy which they are reasonably assured the clients are able to carry through. The Home Economist will be particularly valuable in discovering means of obtaining the results desired without going outside the possibilities of the family budget. The Home Economist and the Home Demonstration Agents in each district will make definite plans for each county, thus utilizing the combined resources of both organizations.

The first and perhaps one of the most important activities of the home economics department will lie in the direction of organizing and projecting a comprehensive home canning campaign. It is felt that it is more valuable to teach families to can food in their own homes with equipment available there, than to use modernly equipped community canning centers. Where such a program does not appear feasible, for example with many urban families, small community canning centers may be used.

As a supplement to the home canning program, eight rather large canneries will be operated in areas in which a surplus of truck vegetables or fruit may be expected. Meat canneries used in the cattle program are being partially dismantled, and some of the equipment being converted into these vegetable or fruit canneries. The typical cannery of this type will consist of two retorts (capacity 165 No. 3 cans), one large cooking kettle, one power sealer, or three automatic hand sealers, blanching vat, etc.

It is proposed that these canneries preserve vegetable or fruit surpluses of relief or rural rehabilitation clients, and possibly of farmers in general. They will be operated on a toll basis. Furthermore, it may happen that in the event of the frequent collapse of the trucking market, large quantities of vegetables or fruit can be obtained by the ERA merely for the picking. The canneries will also be used to preserve such a general surplus.

RURAL REHABILITATION PROJECTS

THE RURAL Rehabilitation Corporation projects must meet the two requirements of all ERA projects in that the proposed activity must be socially and economically desirable, and it must be needed. In addition to these, however, there is a third requirement for RR projects. They must be self-liquidating. Self-liquidating projects are those projects whose cost will be amortized within a reasonable length of time. One such project has already repaid the full amount of advances for labor and materials, and has brought a profit to the Corporation. This project is the propagation of scuppernong vines carried on in Beaufort, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Hoke, Moore, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, and Scotland counties.

PROPAGATING SCUPPERNONG GRAPE VINES

North Carolina is the original habitat of the scuppernong grape. The counties of the Upper Coastal Plain are well adapted to its culture and in these counties there are many home vineyards. In several of these counties there are commercial vineyards most of which have been allowed to

deteriorate during the last several years. It is believed that it is possible to revive the grape industry and to expand it within this and other Southern States. This will give a considerable section a new non-competitive industry which can be used to supplement the income of rehabilitation families.

Vines leased from individual growers are now being layered, with a view of producing rooted cuttings for distribution to relief clients, and to other Southern States which do not have sufficient vines to meet their needs. Forty-six thousand five hundred thirty-three vines have already been cut and sold to Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana. The income from vines already sold is in excess of the cost of propagation. In addition to shoots transported to these states, vines will be transplanted to the farms of RR clients in sections where small vineyards will be profitable as a means of cash income.

SEED PROJECT

This project was set up for the purpose of packing and distributing garden seed to ERA as well as RR clients. By packing the seeds, which were bought on a low-bid basis, and tested in the State Laboratory, within the state, it was thought possible to secure higher quality seed, better adapted varieties, while creating at the same time a valuable work project.

Three hundred twenty-four thousand five hundred sixty-eight pounds of seed were bought at a cost (delivered) of $29,358.82. All packing for distribution was done in the ERA cannery building in Raleigh, the seed being packed in packages of two sizes, sufficient for one-eighth of an acre (cost 55 cents) and for one-fourth of an acre (cost 96 cents).

A total of 49,302 packages was sent out, having a value of $37,480.08. In addition, bulk seed to the value of $1,857.63 were shipped.

Effort is being made to begin growing in the state such of these seed as are practical, for example, field peas, and onion sets. This properly developed would give RR clients a good cash crop and develop a definite source of seed having better adaptability.

SAWMILL PROJECT

On property owned by the RR Corporation in Chatham County, a used sawmill equipped with a 30 horse-power boiler, 20 horse-power high speed engine, and a 48-inch saw has been erected and is ready for operation. The mill is to be supervised by one employee, who will act as logging foreman and sawyer. All labor is to be furnished by the Transient Bureau. It will be mid-summer, however, before timber can be hauled from the swamp and lowlands.

It is estimated that the wood to be cut contains a million feet of sawed lumber, which lumber will be turned over to the Corporation for use in a state-wide building program.

QUARRYING, GRINDING AND DISPOSAL OF AGRICULTURAL LIME

It is generally recognized that North Carolina farms have a very depleted soil condition, due in many instances to the lack of sufficient lime elements in the soil.

Surveys, conducted by Farm Agents in coöperation with the State College of Agriculture and State Extension Service indicate that several million tons of lime are needed on North Carolina soils.

Another survey was made of lime deposits in western North Carolina. Samples of lime from these deposits were collected and analyzed in the College Laboratory. This survey revealed that commercial agricultural lime is available in sufficient quantities in some eight or ten counties in western North Carolina to supply the agricultural lime requirements for that and other sections of the state

State plans have been prepared for leasing unused lime quarries, acquiring lime grinding equipment, and projects prepared for the quarrying and grinding of lime in those counties in which agricultural lime deposits are found. It is planned that this lime, when ground, be sold first to the

Rural Rehabilitation and relief clients, and second to other farmers needing and desiring lime through that area of the state. In all cases the lime is to be made available to farmers at exactly the cost of quarrying and grinding.

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR

Every opportunity for adequate housing will be afforded the individual RR clients, as well as those in colonies. The securing of houses has been accomplished by three methods; first, repairing or rebuilding on lands owned or controlled by clients; second, repairing and building on land that can be leased with option to buy for clients; and third, repairing and building in and around work centers and in rural industrial communities which will be owned and controlled by the Corporation.

If the client lives on his own land, or on land secured for him, in a home which can be advantageously repaired, such repairs will be made up to the limit of what he can repay in 3 years.

If the client lives on his own land but in an unfit home, the RR Corporation will build a home up to a certain limit, the client being given from 1-35 years to repay the loan. If the client owns neither land nor home, land will be secured on advantageous terms, the existing home repaired if possible, or a new home erected. Repairs and painting done on homes will be paid for within three years.

PORTABLE HOUSES

Where houses were needed immediately, temporary portable houses are being erected. These houses are built in units of two rooms, with detachable porch and kitchen. The one-unit houses will be used for the smaller size families, while two such units will be combined for families of larger size. These houses are designed to take care of the families during the crop season.

When land has been purchased by the client, the temporary houses will be taken apart, moved to the location selected, and transformed into permanent living quarters for rehabilitation clients. The units are so constructed that when taken apart they can be moved on a truck.

APPROVING CLIENTS FOR RURAL REHABILITATION

THE ultimate success of a rehabilitation program is to be found not alone in the type of charter granted the Corporation, nor is the responsibility wholly that of supervisory personnel. The real measure of the program's success lies to a great extent with the quality, the ability, and the determination of the clients themselves.

There is a certain amount of popular misconception relating to the selection of rural rehabilitation clients. It is sometimes believed that clients are selected indiscriminately, and that after acceptance, the clients, who have been granted anything for which they asked, are allowed to follow any individual course which seems good to them. Another view is that clients are too heavily supervised, that they labor under a great weight of "red tape."

Both views are equally erroneous. It is obviously the part of wisdom in administering a program fraught with such significance, that every effort should be made to select applicants wisely. It is certainly inaccurate to believe that clients are selected indiscriminately. Nor is it true that there is an excess of "red tape," so-called. The procedures are as simple as possible in view of the importance of the issues involved. A brief resume of the procedure which a client follows will be given here in order to clarify the routine.

All clients are selected from the relief rolls, and are among those regularly investigated by visitors in the Social Service Division. It is from this division that the recommendation is first made. The client then comes before the Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor, who is a member of the district staff, and the client's farming history is investigated.

Each of these officers, the Social Service Supervisor, and the Rural Rehabilitation Supervisor, make every possible effort to ascertain, on the basis of the applicant's credit history, his general reputation, his history with the relief agency, his knowledge of farming, the fact that he has made his living by farming during the last five years, and other relevant considerations, whether or not it will be to the advantage of the applicant and to the Corporation to have the application accepted.

If it is agreed to recommend the client for acceptance by the Corporation, a budget is prepared, countersigned by the District Administrator, and sent to state headquarters for approval. After approval by the state office, the budget is returned to the district office, and thenceforward the client is party to an agreement made with the Corporation, and works under supervision provided by the Corporation.

It may be repeated here that the final measure of success to be obtained in individual cases will be governed to a large extent by the individuals themselves. There is no peculiar insight vouchsafed the personnel of the Emergency Relief Administration which permits them to predict with complete accuracy the outcome of any particular client's rehabilitation history. When dealing with human beings, all activities are governed by the complexities which inhere in human nature. The best that can be done is to use the best intelligence available, and to exercise every permissible caution in selecting persons and administering the program, with the general assurance that the same considerations which affect human conduct in other directions will operate here. Naturally the outcome will be guaranteed only in so far as all conditions which are operative will allow it to be guaranteed.

COMPILATION, APPROVAL, AND ENFORCEMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA RURAL REHABILITATION FAMILY BUDGETS

A. COMPILING THE BUDGET

THE RURAL Rehabilitation family budget was drawn up by the Assistant Director of Rural Rehabilitation in November, 1934. Copies of this form were sent to the Social Service Divisions of the several districts of the state where items suggested on the budget form were filled in to meet the needs of individual clients. Case workers recommended clients for rehabilitation and itemized their subsistence requirements. RR county farm foremen then listed operating expenses, farm equipment and livestock necessary for the cultivation of crops planned for the clients. A farm plan was also prepared for each client.

With the complete needs of the family shown on the budget, signatures of the case worker, farm foreman, director of relief and that of the applicant were affixed. The budget was then put in the hands of the local RR Board for consideration. The signature of the Chairman of this body signified the Board's approval of the budget as submitted to the state office. An RR card and social worker's case history accompanied each budget.

B. ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET

Budgets submitted to the N. C. RR Division for adoption were approved as follows:

Subsistence Items, Numbers 1, 2 and 3 on the budget: The amount of food and clothing allotted a family was determined primarily by the number of persons in the family. A schedule of food and clothing needs for rural families of different sizes prepared by a nutrition adviser on the staff of the State ERA was useful in approving these items on the budgets. Allowances for fuel, light, medical care, and household necessities were determined by the size of the request and the explanation of the need as shown in the case history accompanying the budget. The ability of the family to repay--

in so far as this ability was shown by the acreage to be planted by the client--was also considered in the approval of these items for clients.

Farm Equipment, No. 4: Farm equipment was approved where the short inventory of items already available to clients showed such equipment to be lacking. The total amount approved was again limited by the acreage tillable, particularly cash acreages of cotton, tobacco and peanuts. Type of soil, distribution of crops, and kind of work stock to be used were other factors considered.

Farm Supplies, No. 5: A schedule for the different topographical sections of the state showing quantity and cost of seed needed, kind, amount and cost of fertilizer was prepared by an agricultural consultant connected with the N. C. RR Division staff for the assistance of those approving these items on the budgets.

Livestock, No. 6: Total acreage to be cultivated, and the cropping system as shown on the budget, determined the number and value of livestock approved.

Actual Budget by the Month, No. 7: The budget as approved was then distributed over the six months' period. All livestock, farm equipment, farm supplies and household equipment have been provided the client during the month in which his budget was accepted. This has been done to enable the client to begin farming operations and set up his household establishment immediately. Food, clothing and light have been distributed over the full six months' period Medical care and small household articles have been placed in the first months of the budget. By placing operating expenses and capital goods in January, February and March, as new budgets have been received in these months, the average per family for the first three months is almost twice the amount approved for the same families for the second three months.

C. ENFORCEMENT OF THE BUDGET

Home economists have been placed in each district to assist RR families in living within the subsistence allowances granted them. Home economists are assisted by local home makers in each county where the number of RR families justifies their employment. The spending of allowances for farm equipment, farm supplies, and livestock is supervised by the RR farm foreman. With the consent of the case worker, home economist and farm foreman, the value of any items covered by the crop lien--whether subsistence or operating expenses--may be transferred to other approved items also covered by the lien, so long as the total of the lien is not exceeded. The value of approved capital goods may also be exchanged for other approved capital goods, so long as the total amount approved on the budget is not exceeded. Responsibility for staying within the approved budget--with such shifting of items as aforementioned--lies with the local case worker, home economist, and farm foreman who supervise the home life and farming activities of the client.

THE OUTLOOK FOR RURAL REHABILITATION IN NORTH CAROLINA

There are certain practical conclusions to which the N. C. ERA has been led after considering the results of the study directed by Mr. Blackwell upon which its program was so largely based, and after its experience with rural rehabilitation measures over the last three years.

It would be inappropriate here to engage in an exhaustive treatise in the field of agricultural economics. It is proper, however, to direct attention of interested persons to certain findings, which findings are based on factors occurring with sufficient frequency to be termed typical. The issues, if they can be separated, are in the main two--economic and social. These issues, although they may be separated for discussion, must in the last analysis be treated as but two aspects of one problem.

The rural economic problem is infinitely complex. Suffice it to say that in the economy of farm life, two major essentials are long-time credit, and assured markets. As to the first it is a patent truth that ordinary commercial credit is of but little value for the farmer. He lacks the ability possessed

by the manufacturer to control production. And when he has successfully produced a crop, a large array of factors enter to disturb the delicate balance which exists between the farm producer and the distant consumer. Or if he has contracted for credit, the operation of natural forces over which he has but little control at present, prolonged dry or wet spells, destructive storms and blight, enter to nullify his efforts. So it would seem quite obvious that if he is to operate at all he must have longtime cheap credit. Cheap credit may not yield the return realized from gilt-edged bonds, but its deficiency in monetary interest will be compensated by its important function in stabilizing the foundation of subsistence on which our national life depends.

The question of markets is one which cannot be easily settled. Again many factors enter. Crop surplusage, resulting in a glutted market; competition between agricultural areas, with the market going to the one most favored by natural conditions; inability to market (by the small farmer) due to preferential transportation rates; the unsatisfactory experience of many farmers with commission men; variation in demand for certain products; these and other factors make the problem of marketing a highly complex one. It is quite true however, and here the problem becomes emphatically a human one, that there is no lack of a market right in this country if everyone were able to purchase what he actually needs for subsistence. Hence the problem of finding adequate markets should be largely settled when general economic conditions have become so readjusted that more buying power will be put into the hands of millions of Americans now living "on margin."

The social aspects of our problem have been suggested throughout. No longer can men afford to take refuge in the easy solution that "these people have never known any better, have never had any more." Nor can we afford in the larger percentage of cases to identify want and poverty with some moral lack in the individual. There has been a progressive degeneration of some fine racial stocks in this country due to no other reason than either our cupidity or our stupidity, a rigid reluctance to accept a basic social truth, that there can be no significant progress or prosperity for some unless there is progress and prosperity for all. Our preoccupation with material well-being has blinded us to the steady drainage on our human resources, a drainage which the people concerned did not initiate and were largely powerless to stop.

Systematic adult education is another objective which must be realized in an adequate rural program. That rural life must be made more attractive by the addition of cultural factors is a basic consideration in the thought of many rural leaders. All are familiar with pictures drawn of the onerous nature of life on the farm, yet it is true that the quality of cultural life which some progressive individuals and rural communities have achieved should be made available to the large masses of rural dwellers. In many communities, cultural possibilities are almost lacking, the consolidated school, and the country church, usually on a circuit, representing the total cultural opportunities.

A suggestion of what might be done is indicated by the results of the Emergency Education Program. Although as a primarily relief program, it had certain fundamental inadequacies, nevertheless, it achieved an influence on country life which is difficult to appraise adequately. It adopted a pedagogical principle which while simple is fundamental--start where the people are! With this principle in mind, and armed with enthusiasm and what was in many cases a real perception of rural needs, teachers gathered adult groups in country districts all over North Carolina and gave types of instruction most needed and desired by the group. A feature of the program, amounting almost to a campaign, was the systematic attack on illiteracy. Dramatic demonstration of the value of this phase of the training has been given all over the state.

Experience with this education program suggests the large field of profitable effort which may be developed in the future to the great benefit of people who live in the country. A rich quality of life should be as possible to the rural dweller as to his city cousin. Adult instruction, musical instruction, group recreational features, teaching people how to play, needed training in home economy, circulating

libraries, these and many other benefits are suggested as necessary by the experience of the emergency education program in the state and lay down a definite challenge to planners of an adequate rural North Carolina society.

Another major problem which must be faced by rural rehabilitation planning is that of dispossessed tenant farm families now relegated to the status of casual laborers. This situation which is serious throughout the South is concentrated in North Carolina in the bright-leaf tobacco region where the tenancy rate is the highest. Croppers, displaced in the years 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932, because of the landlord's inability to continue financing them, or because he decided to shift to farming with day labor, have found reëntry to the agricultural economy effectively blocked by the acreage control program of the AAA. It is undoubtedly true, as has been indicated by rural leaders, that under the policy of reducing acreage the tenant finds himself in an increasingly disadvantageous position. The public is gradually becoming aware of this problem.

The social and economic conditions under which croppers exist even when times are good are below those of any other group in rural America. With the advent of what is vaguely termed "agricultural recovery," displaced tenants may be able to get a crop again. But the question is whether that eventuality is desirable. Is the whole intent of this program a return to the evils of the tenant system, which has been depleting human adequacy and vitality, both of landlord and tenant, since the Civil War? A restoration of agricultural exports accompanied by a return to uncontrolled agricultural production might encourage the survival of tenancy. But such conditions are not likely to occur in the near future.

What is to become of this large floating population in the South if the policy of economic nationalism is adhered to, along with the then necessary controlled agricultural output? Secretary of Agriculture Wallace himself has said that with such a program, "It may be necessary after a time to shift part of the Southern population." Quoting him further, "We are sparring with the situation until the American people are ready to face the facts." The establishment of widespread proprietorship, together with a further joining of agriculture and industry as recommended by various leaders seems to be the ultimate solution.

From the above considerations it would appear that there will be of necessity a removal of families from areas where there is an overmanned agricultural economy. The present program of rural rehabilitation can accomplish but little in the way of permanently rehabilitating people in overcrowded agricultural sections.

With the number of share-crops held at the 1933 level, and actually decreased by the AAA, any relief family which gets a crop of its own probably displaces another family. Hence the program can make but little progress in permanently solving the problem until more families are moved. Work projects, adequate and well-planned, will help. But the continuation of work projects in strictly rural sections is unthinkable, save those minor industries absolutely essential to a rural economy. Hence, the ultimate objective of rehabilitation effort as related to this problem points to the gradual selection of families to move to other sections, after preliminary educational work has been done showing the ultimate wisdom of such a policy to the client.

It is into a very complex situation therefore that the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, with its program as heretofore outlined has come. It would seem from a reading of its charter, a knowledge of its purposes, and observation of its practical application to rural problems, as they exist, that there is much to recommend it as a beginning wedge in the attack on rural economic and social insecurity. It must be remembered, however, that this program applies only to persons on relief, and only to such of those who qualify for rural rehabilitation.

But this fact instead of preventing the Corporation's rehabilitation efforts from being used as a standard for general rural rehabilitation really enhances its value as a measuring rod for this type

of rehabilitation. This argument may be made: If this broad program with its long-time credit facilities; its efforts for better housing; its supplying of necessary farm implements and work stock; its coöperative interest in helping secure more adequate social and cultural life in rural communities; its coöperative buying and marketing; its substitution of business procedure in advancing this money, for an outright dole; its providing of expert supervision; if these work successfully within the present group of persons who have had to call on the government for aid; why should not the same principles on which the Corporation's program is built operate with equal success throughout the whole of rural North Carolina?

It is not recommended, however, that the whole rural population call on the government for help. The elements in the Corporation's program which are recommended for the consideration of those not on relief are the benefits, which accrue from simple coöperation; coöperation in securing credit from credit sources; coöperation in buying and selling; coöperation in buying and using heavy farm machinery and work stock; coöperation in securing a satisfactory social and cultural life in every community; coöperation in securing expert supervisory aid and counsel from already constituted state departments. There is too much common sense in such proposals to believe that they will not work. The farmer has always been termed too much of an individualist to want to cooperate. But it is unimaginable that this individualism will long exist when it is discovered that the only alternative to coöperation by the whole group is economic and social ruin. We are seeing now the fruits of a rampant and uninstructed "rugged individualism."

In his report, Mr. Blackwell finds in the last analysis, using every legimate measuring device, that only 60 per cent at most of the persons studied will lend themselves to any degree of rehabilitation. Forty per cent, therefore, although this figure is not absolute, are classed through a consideration of their past history as bad risks. But this will not dispose of the problem. They cannot be scrapped. Through the same type of community coöperation as outlined above; by the application of every intelligent social technique; by unremitting effort on the part of those who are objectively solicitous for the future welfare of the nation; these persons, and their children must receive such consideration as will allow them, although it may take a long time, to achieve the status of independent citizens.

The outlook for rehabilitation in rural North Carolina, therefore, is more promising than not. This conclusion has not been reached by proving anything, but by indicating, first, the complexity of the problem, and secondly, the good sense inherent in the program designed to alleviate these conditions. One factor, not yet mentioned which reinforces our optimism, is the demonstrated genius of ordinary people for recovery. Our people have inherited, among other racial traits, some of the Englishman's persistence, and once a pathway has been blazed, are not reluctant to follow on to its satisfactory outcome.

In conclusion, one more fundamental fact needs to be stressed. In the face of a disturbing and widespread tendency on the part of irresponsible people to shift the burden of thinking and acting to the government, perhaps no other one thing will aid agricultural recovery in this state as much as a tremendous revival of self-dependence. No government or state program; no easy credit; nothing will ever substitute successfully for an inbred and determined persistence in every individual to believe in himself and to do his part. It is no overstatement to say that there is no problem which cannot be solved by the application of the intelligence of self-reliant men.

The time has come, therefore, for us to gird ourselves, in North Carolina, for the most concerted drive ever made on conditions which militate against the wellbeing of the state. With the use of the best intelligence, the utmost determination and industry, qualities intimately associated with the history of the Old North State, the ultimate happy issue will not long be in doubt.

FARM DEBT ADJUSTMENT COMMISSION

The North Carolina Farm Debt Adjustment Commission, consisting of nine members, was created by Governor Ehringhaus June 12, 1934, to assist the farmers in this state to adjust and refinance their indebtedness and to prevent unnecessary foreclosures. The work of the Commission is a part of a nation-wide effort to solve the farm debt problem which became so acute in all parts of the country that Federal action on a large scale seemed imperative.

The Farm Debt Adjustment Commission organized committees in ninety of the one hundred counties in North Carolina. The services of both the State Commission and the County Committees are voluntary. Their function is to bring the debtor and creditor into an open discussion of their mutual problems for the purpose of determining what can be done in the way of adjustment of the debts. Many of the farmers have been hopelessly in debt, or in such condition that governmental agencies can be of little or no help. The Commission has been able in a large number of cases to arrange an agreement with the creditors whereby the farms may be released to the original owners. Because of the importance of this problem among rural relief families, and families who were potential relief clients because of probable foreclosures on their farms and homes, the Farm Debt Adjustment Commission and the Rural Rehabilitation Division of the ERA entered into the following cooperative agreement:

The Farm Debt Adjustment Commission agreed:

1. To place at the disposal of the Rural Rehabilitation Division its field representatives;

2. To furnish such information as may be necessary to a complete understanding of the methods used in settling debts;

3. To supply creditor and debtor forms to be used in obtaining statements regarding the debts of clients and creditor statements;

4. To assist personnel of the Rural Rehabilitation Division in presenting cases of clients to the local Farm Debt Adjustment Committees;

5. To do any and all other things that may be essential to the proper adjustment of Rural Rehabilitation clients' debts.

The ERA agreed to pay salaries and traveling expenses for a limited number of field workers on a coöperative project for supervision of this program, and to assign clerical assistance from relief rolls to the State Commission and to the local County Committees, and, wherever possible, to arrange a meeting place for the committees. In many instances, where only the part-time service of a clerical worker was needed, it was possible for the ERA to assign a clerical worker already on the staff to give part time to the local Farm Debt Adjustment Committee.

A number of farm families have been aided by the Farm Debt Adjustment Commission. The solution of their debt problems has justified this coöperative agreement.

(1) Mr. and Mrs. Dewey learned to write in ten lessons. (2) Young mothers in ERE parent-teachers class. (3) Student who says he "would not take anything for arithmetic he learned this winter." (4) Henry Treadway and specimen of his writing. He reached three grades in ERE school. (5) ERE teachers in training classes at Boone. (6) Student and her baby. (7) Family group of adult students. (Specimen of writing--Mrs. Seboch learned to write in ten lessons. (8) Young man who is crippled and could not attend public school. Has learned to read and write. (9) Children treated in ERE school clinic. (10) Group in home making class. (11) Group of students with their children.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

EMERGENCY EDUCATION PROGRAM

November, 1933, to May, 1934

The Emergency Education Program was authorized by memorandum from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration on August 19, 1933, for the purpose of giving work to needy unemployed teachers. The program at this time was limited to two types of projects:

1. Employment on work relief basis, of needy unemployed teachers in rural elementary schools; only school districts which had prior to August 19, 1933, definitely recognized that because of shortage of funds they could not maintain the ordinary school term, could employ emergency relief teachers or participate in this program.

2. Employment on work relief basis, of needy unemployed teachers competent to teach adults unable to read and write.

The regulations provided that teachers participating in this program be certified by the Emergency Relief Administration as eligible for relief. The program, however, was organized and directed entirely by the State Department of Education, and monthly reports of obligations, number of pupils and number of teachers employed were to be made to the Emergency Relief Administration. No division of Education was set up in ERA, but the policy of coöperation with the State Department of Education and the procedure of certification were delegated to the Director of the Social Service Division. Later, during the winter months, the nursery schools were added under the plan of organization.

Teachers submitted weekly service reports to the State Department of Education, but the State Department of Education did not submit to the Emergency Relief Administration analyzed reports for total number of individuals.

The regulations permitted to each teacher five per cent (5%) as much for supplies as the amount of her salary in a particular month. The invoices were sent direct to the state office of the CWA and the ERA.

Approximately $3,000 should be added to above total to cover the item of supplies.

June, 1934, to December, 1935

To assume direction of the expanding Educational Program, in May, 1934, a Director of Emergency Education was added to the State ERA Staff and a Division of Education created. The new program, as announced by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in July, included the following:

2. Rural Elementary schools (not used in North Carolina as no rural schools had closed on account of funds).

3. Vocational Rehabilitation--for unemployed adults who are in need of vocational training or adjustment to make them employable, in the fields of trade and industry, home economics, agriculture, vocational adjustments for unemployed adults, and commercial classes for stenographers, typists, bookkeepers, etc., for unemployed adults on relief to make them reëmployable.

4. Workers' Education--to acquaint laborers in industrial centers with the problems pertaining to their occupations and their living conditions.

5. Parent Education--to give instruction to parents of low-wage levels in the care of underprivileged children. Parents of nursery school children were required to attend at least one class per week in this division, so that the practices obtaining at the school could be carried on also at home. Later in the year (about March, 1935) a broader type of training was employed for the benefit of parents in general.

6. Nursery Schools--to develop the physical and mental well-being of pre-school children in needy unemployed families or neglected or underprivileged homes.

SUPERVISION

To make the emergency education program more effective, authority was granted during the summer of 1934 to employ a staff of education supervisors. At first the sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000) per month was allowed for this service and later the sum of ten dollars ($10) per month for office expense was permitted for each of the supervisors. (See Tables II and VII for the statistics on supervision.)

PERSONNEL

The policy was adopted of giving each race prorata representation and of having the teachers directed by a supervisor of their own race--except for Nursery Schools. The one white Supervisor of Nursery Schools supervised the teachers for the Negro race also.

Reports do not show the exact number of Negro teachers employed or of Negro students enrolled.

Teachers certified by relief administrators and approved by designated educational officials were employed on basis of need, regardless of race.

The monthly salary of each emergency teacher whether white or colored was fifty dollars ($50). The only exception to this was the sixty-dollar ($60) monthly salary of head teachers of nursery schools.

ELIGIBILITY OF TEACHERS

The policy of determining eligibility of teachers was modified as follows:

"Professional and Non-Manual Workers shall be employed by the Works Divisions on the basis of need. These persons shall be eligible for relief, but need not be on the relief rolls. The method of need determination shall be by means of a questionnaire field with the Relief Administration, and verified by a professional or technical organization, and by an interview with a case worker. This verification may be made monthly or bi-monthly but should not take the form of a home investigation. The questionnaire for this purpose has been prepared by this office. States wishing to alter this form must receive approval for changes from this office."

According to this modification, case workers did not follow up the interview with a home investigation, but accepted the teacher's own statement, which was verified by any business employer or organization.

Later, in May, 1935, authority was given to re-investigate all teachers on this program according to the standards for all persons on relief.

TABLE NO. III* Showing Types of Projects, Number of Teachers, Number of Pupils and Amount of Money Involved

* Table III is a comparative study of the enrollments, costs, and number of teachers employed in the various types of classes conducted under the ERE program from September, 1934, to September, 1935, inclusive.

TABLE NO. III* Showing Types of Projects, Number of Teachers, Number of Pupils and Amount of Money Involved

* Table III is a comparative study of the enrollments, costs, and number of teachers employed in the various types of classes conducted under the ERE program from September, 1934, to September, 1935, inclusive.

Typical ERE night school students who received certificates at ERE Commencement Exercises, Asheville, June 1, 1935. (1) Student and her family. This mother received certificate in Group No. 3. (2) Group of students in attendance at graduating exercises. (3) Distinguished speakers at Commencement. (4) Two students who attended Commencement. (5) Group of students who attended Commencement. (6) Three thousand students in attendance at Commencement Exercises.

COMMENT ON ERE PROGRAM

I. NUMBERS

That the emergency education program has found a place of real service is attested by the following facts:

1. In April, 1935, it employed four and three-tenths times as many teachers as in September, 1934.

2. These teachers enrolled for the month of April, 1935, more than six times as many pupils as in September, 1934.

3. The average enrollment of pupils per teacher for the whole period was more than twenty (20), whereas the minimum required was ten (10).

4. The Christmas holidays affected the work to only a slight degree, and other factors such as weather, epidemics, etc., seemed to disturb it very slightly.

II. QUALITY OF WORK

No general statement can be made as to the quality of work done. Much of it was, of course, far below satisfactory educational standards. Much, however, was of a very high order. Home making, recreation, health work, and many other worthy types of endeavor were noticeably successful.

SPECIFIC RESULTS--ADULT EDUCATION

a. Music to thirty high school graduates who could not go on to college.

b. Home-making to a dozen or more farm women.

c. Dramatics to a group of unemployed young men and young women.

So great was her success in dramatics that her pupils presented an original one-act play at the state dramatic festival, winning "honorable mention" for the excellence of their work.

2. Another teacher taught handicrafts to eighty-five women in a cotton-mill village, some of the articles made taking prizes at the annual Dogwood Festival, in Chapel Hill, in April.

3. A third teacher (an unemployed trained nurse) organized a group of underprivileged young mothers and carried them through an entire course in the care and feeding of small children.

4. Five teachers were used at the State's Farm Colony for Women, the instruction being of the most practical type. The Superintendent of the institution states that (since she had no funds to provide education for her charges) the ERE classes have been a veritable godsend.

5. Several classes have been organized for the instruction of the blind, Braille being taught in some instances and handicrafts in others. This work has had the active support of The Association for the Blind and of several fraternal orders.

6. One class was organized in a home for crippled or physically-handicapped children, where no other educational facilities were available.

But the list is too long and varied to be included here. The policy followed has been to aid all groups for which no other educational facilities had been provided.

LITERACY

The figures given in Table III do not reflect the correct number of people who belong to the literacy project. Of necessity a teacher reports a class according to the type of work done by the majority of the pupils. It is known that many classes reported as "adult education" contain pupils who ought to be classed as illiterate. Approximately ten thousand illiterate people have been aided at some time during the year, for in one district four thousand illiterate pupils were given certificates testifying that they had completed the first unit of work.

EDUCATION OF PRISONERS

For a period of nine weeks--June 13 to August 15, 1935--an experiment of teaching prisoners in three camps was tried. Sixteen different classes were organized, some in recreation, some in visual education, and a few in academic subjects. The results were highly gratifying and, it is hoped, may point the way to a permanent plan for dealing with this group of the state's population.

NORTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY NURSERY SCHOOLS 1934--1935

On October 19, 1934, fifty emergency nursery schools were opened in North Carolina. Of this number fifteen were for Negro and thirty-five for white children. This is in keeping with the percentage of Negroes and Whites since approximately three-tenths of the population is Negro and seven-tenths White.

In each emergency nursery school there were two teachers, a trained nurse and an unskilled laborer to do the janitorial work, making a total of at least four persons from relief rolls employed in each school. Occasionally an extra heavy teaching load caused extra teachers to be added to the staff.

In order to establish an emergency nursery school a board of sponsors representing the organizations of a community sent in a formal request for the school, giving a definite report on the need for the school, the number of children to be serviced and the number of parents to attend parent education classes. The community promised to provide equipment, housing and heating facilities in keeping with the requirements of the Federal Emergency Education Division.

The program includes intensive training for the parents of the children, medical examination and training in physical, mental and social habits of the children, cod liver oil, tomato juice, a hot noon meal and a nap in individual beds was a part of each day's schedule. A total of 2,263 children received this service, averaging a gain in weight of 10 pounds during the first seven months of the program.

The average cost of food, including cod liver oil and tomato juice, was nine cents per person per day. Cash donations amounting to $3,980.00 were reported while innumerable hours of time were given by interested citizens in repairing, cleaning and equipping buildings and grounds for the nursery schools.

The following data compiled at the close of the seventh month of the Emergency Nursery School give interesting facts concerning the program.

* These institutes were for Workers' Education. Trainees came from several states.

* Since some trainees in the teachers' institutes attended more than one institute, the total is given as though each had been a different person. In no other way can the average expense per teacher be determined.

II. CAMPS FOR YOUNG WOMEN--TABLE NO. V(16-25 years from Relief Families)

Place

Date

No. Trainees

Cost

New Bern (white)

August-October, 1935

76

$4,632.34

Brevard (white)

August-September, 1935

96

2,690.10

Rocky Mount (colored)

August-September, 1935

70

2,353.20

242

$9,675.64

EMERGENCY EDUCATION

** Table III is excluded from the grand total given, since the costs shown in Table III are included in Table II.

YOUTH CAMPS

Three Youth Camps for unemployed young women between the ages of 16 and 25 years, were established under the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, one in August, and two in September. These camps, two for white women, and one for Negroes were located at Brevard, Neuse Forest, near New Bern, and Bricks School (Negro) near Enfield.

Staffed with competent personnel, the purposes of these camps as stated by the Supervisor of Women's Camps were: To provide opportunity for young women to come together, not only to find that healthful environment and recreational outlet associated with camp life, but to share in coöperative living. Practical instruction of many kinds was combined with the utmost liberty

ERE students and some of the articles they learned to make in homemaking classes. (1) Mother of three children who completed course in Group No. 3. (2) Mother and daughter. Mother attended school regularly, completed course in first group. (3) Young mother who completed course in Group No. 3. (4) Student who had attended high school before going to night school. (5) Deputy Sheriff of Buncombe County presenting captured copper whiskey still to ERE teacher. (6) Articles made by ERE students from copper still pictured above.

in creating their own leisure time activities to achieve a well rounded camp life and eminently successful results in shared living. Three hundred girls were invited to the camps. Two hundred and forty-two (242) actually were in attendance. These girls left, their individualities not curbed but heightened, but with a new realization of the necessity of applied group intelligence in solving group problems.

The story of the camps, however, is told as well in the reactions expressed by the campers as it is in the Report of the Director: Here are a few culled from many reactions.

"I could write a book; I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world."

"My mother was impressed with the training I got while I was in camp. She said the only thing she hated was that we didn't stay longer. Mrs. -- had quite a hard time to get me to go to camp; finally I decided, and now I'm glad. I don't regret one minute that I spent there."

And here is an eloquent story. A camper cried so hard as the bus left the campus that it took the combined efforts of her friends to console her. She had been President of the Camp Council, and had been elected Permanent President as the camp closed. In her home community she was known as a "smart" student in school, but the passing years found her failing to live up to her early promise of leadership. Also she was a recipient of adult criticism leveled at the group with which she associated. At first she wore the Presidental toga proudly, but carelessly. Soon she began rising to the opportunities of her position. So apparent was the change that girls who had doubted the wisdom of electing her as President, voted enthusiastically for her as Permanent President.

III. THE COLLEGE STUDENT AID PROGRAM

The Federal Relief Administrator, on February 2, 1934, issued a letter authorizing all State Relief Administrators to make relief funds available for a program of part-time employment for college students attending college or desiring to attend college, but who would without aid be unable to continue or attain a college education.

Colleges and universities of a non-profit making character were eligible to participate in the funds to finance the part-time employment program. The allotment of jobs to each college was equal to 10 per cent of its full-time enrollment as of October 15, 1933. This was raised to 12 per cent in July, 1935. The average amount of money available per month was $15 per student receiving this aid. Each student was limited to 8 hours a day and thirty hours a week at the rate of pay commonly paid by the institution for the type of service rendered, but not less than 30c per hour. The institutions were at first required to waive all fees, for registration, tuition and laboratory, and other purposes for students working on this program. This requirement was later abolished with the recommendation that the institutions coöperate as far as possible by granting reductions.

The types of work performed included library, clerical, museum and research work, reading and grading papers, recreational, and other work of social usefulness and educational value in publicly-owned institutions, and on buildings and grounds, provided, however, the jobs did not cause displacements of regular workers who might be doing the same work.

The determination of eligibility of the students was left entirely to the college president or to a committee appointed by him, the requirement being that the student was unable to attend college without Federal aid. Students were required to be of good character and capable of doing acceptable college work. While students were required to maintain a satisfactory scholastic grade, records show that Federal-aided students received in most cases, grades above the institutional average.

Immediately upon the announcement of this program, colleges gladly accepted the conditions, some of them getting the program under way in a few days.

* These figures are taken from the report for April, 1934, this month showing the largest number of participants.

This program was suspended during the summer months, and resumed for the academic year of 1934-1935 with added specifications.

COLLEGE STUDENT AID--September, 1934, to June, 1935

On July 3, 1934, Mr. Hopkins issued letter E-29 in which announcements were made for carrying on the student aid program during the college year 1934-35. The provisions of the previous letter E-15 were continued, there being only one important change. In the spring of 1934, colleges were allowed aid for ten per cent (10%) of the enrollment of October, 1933. This percentage was changed to twelve per cent (12%) for the year 1934-35.

Fifty-two colleges signified a desire to qualify for student aid. Each college was required to submit in quadruplicate affidavits showing (a) the total number of students registered October 15, 1933, (b) the number of students entitled to receive aid (12 per cent of the October enrollment, 1933), and (c) the total monthly allotment requested. All of the copies of the affidavit were approved by the State Emergency Relief Administrator and by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and further approved by the Washington office. One approved copy of the affidavit was retained in Washington, one copy was sent to the college, and two copies were kept by this office. Throughout the year each college was required to keep within its allotment each month and to submit detailed information to this office as to how the money was expended. At the close of the year (June, 1935) each college was required to submit an annual report. This office audited the reports and filed with the Finance Division a complete and accurate summary for each college. This summary is given herewith.

Forty (40) colleges for white students and twelve (12) colleges for colored students.

* This item was incurred while awaiting approval of WPA Project 65-32-3923.

THE TRANSIENT PROGRAM

The problem of transiency is national in its scope, although the nature of the problem may vary as to regions. The same spirit of independence that motivated our forefathers to seek freedom and gainful occupation in a new country motivates the transient who can find no work at home, to seek work in a distant community. The urge of new adventure, of new discovery, of travel, of desire to work, the inalienable right of every person to live where he will, all apply to equal force to every class of people. The distinctive aspect of present day transient movements is that they are movements of individuals, not groups. The common bond that brings this group together is search for work.

Transients are not very different from other people. They are persons and families who, having become discouraged and desperate by failure and financial distress, are driven to seek economic security in a new place; persons who are marooned in stranded communities; and those who have formerly found their livelihood in seasonal labor and who follow seasonal work opportunities in sections of the state and in sections of the nation, hoping that they will be among those fortunate to get a job. There are those, also, who have been away from their place of legal settlement, according to our varying state laws, long enough to lose legal residence, and are inhumanly driven from one community to another, from one state to another, because "they have not been here sufficient time to be a legal resident." Every class and type of persons is found among transients today, the professional man, the educator, the vagrant, the ex-criminal, the hobo. The depression has been no respecter of persons--all have been its victims.

In 1934, the situation became so acute, as a state and interstate problem, with the provisions for aid so inadequate, that the Federal Emergency Relief Administration inaugurated a transient program, making special earmarked grants to the states for establishment of transient centers, or shelters, in the principal cities through the nation. In these shelters the transients were received, fed, and clothed and given medical attention. Later concentration camps were established and the able-bodied

men were separated from the physically unfit--employable men were given work on useful jobs, their board, a nominal sum, deducted from their earnings.

Contrary to the general opinion of the public that transients in these Intake Centers were loafing, they usually welcomed the opportunity to work, as shown by the type of work performed by them while stationed in the centers. For instance, the transients at the Raleigh Center constructed a dyke on a farm near the city which was rented by the division, built fences and cleared grounds of stumps and underbrush at State College, filled in low grounds at colored cemetery, beautified Pullen Park, worked 28,331 hours for the city, filling up the old Rock Quarry with city refuse, cleared the lake shore at the J. Beale Johnson Farm, and many other such jobs.

Similar types of work at the other centers were performed.

TRANSIENT ACTIVITIES IN NORTH CAROLINA

From April, 1934, to April, 1935, six transient centers were established, located at Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Salisbury. These were intake centers where transients were received and given care temporarily until they could be returned home, to a job, to relatives, or to a work camp.

Transient labor has been used on the following types of public projects: sand fixation, the anchoring of sand to prevent its mass movement by erosion; mosquito control to help reduce the frequency of malaria; school beautification; street beautification; work on recreational grounds; work on highways; and work on the Penderlea Homesteads Project. The men also did a considerable amount of the repair necessary in each of the centers and camps, as well as doing landscaping work on grounds surrounding the buildings.

In April, 1934, the old County Prison Farm in Mecklenburg County was rented by the Charlotte Center, and a farm was started to take care of the case load which was rapidly increasing. About 140 men were sent to this camp. The men who were sent to the farm enjoyed the farm life very much.

Allied with the criticism of the transient program was the objection voiced by many public citizens and unemployed persons in sections where it was planned to establish transient camps. These persons held the view that using transient labor constituted unfair discrimination against the unemployed labor supply in the community. Considerable effort had to be expended to offset these objections and prepare the way for using transient labor.

A work camp was built at Nags Head on the coast in April, 1934. Two hundred able-bodied men were sent to this camp and were engaged in drift fence construction to combat beach erosion. This work was carried out along the lines recommended by War Department Engineers. The work that was completed has been well done and has formed an effectual barrier reef or fore dune. After the drift had accumulated sufficiently, the work was grassed over, using native grasses. A considerable amount of drainage work has also been done by the Nags Head camp in promoting malaria control. This work has been a great help and has materially lessened the presence of mosquitoes. This work was done under the direction of the State Board of Health.

By May, 1934, the case load had increased so much and there were so few experienced case workers, that it became necessary to employ a State Case Work Supervisor. In the middle of May, the Supervisor reported for duty and started her work throughout the state, training case workers who were in the centers. All case work records were brought up to date and new forms introduced which helped in keeping a more accurate check on the work.

Early in 1934, a camp was established at Penderlea, a subsistence homestead project. About 150 men were engaged in building houses and clearing ground for the homesteaders who were going to be quartered there. In July, the director of the homesteads project requested the removal of the

work camp from Penderlea. At that time there was no new project available. Since the work on the coast needed additional men, those at this camp were transferred to the camp at Nags Head. With these additional men, the existing facilities were not adequate. Therefore, the camp was moved further down the beach where land was available for construction of a larger camp.

As the fall of 1934 approached, the number of men in the transient centers increased rapidly, and the camp facilities were inadequate to take care of the load; therefore it became increasingly necessary that some way be found to occupy the leisure time of these men, in order to keep them off the streets, and thus allay community criticism. In September a State Recreation Director was employed who worked throughout the state getting new programs started and stimulating those already in existence.

To take care of the overflow in Greensboro, the buildings of a closed summer hotel at Dunlap Springs, about fifteen miles from Greensboro, were rented to provide needed quarters. Old and infirm men were sent there. The men who were able to work repaired and reconditioned the buildings, cleaned up the grounds, consisting of 60 acres, planted shrubbery and trimmed trees. The spring at this camp has proved a great help to these older men. Their general health has improved and at this time there has been no illness of serious nature.

An additional camp was established at Weaverville near Asheville to house 150 men, and unused college property was secured for this camp. These buildings were also in need of repair and this was done in a splendid way by the transient workmen, and the grounds cleaned and planted. An educational program was initiated for the younger men, teachers being secured through ERE. The classes were well attended. A splendid work program was carried out, sponsored by the town of Weaverville. Parks, streets, and playgrounds were developed, and the auditorium, on the college property, was repaired, reconditioned, and painted.

The last camp to be established was the New Hope Farm Camp, located 14 miles south of Durham, and 125 Negroes were sent there. This farm, consisting of nearly 2,000 acres, was purchased by the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, a unit of the N. C. ERA, and was leased to the Transient Division for improvement and clearing of the land and building houses, barns, etc. in lieu of rent. This farm had been untenanted for 10 years, the buildings had fallen down, and all fields had grown over by trees, bushes, and weeds. Drainage ditches had filled and all farm roads had disappeared. Several buildings were secured from a discontinued CCC Camp, and two 125-feet barracks and a mess hall and kitchen 100 × 44 feet were built out of this material. A sawmill was set up on the farm and operated by the transients; lumber was cut and three good 4- and 5-room houses were constructed, the old farm home was restored, stock barns, storage barns, poultry and swine houses built, and in addition a pump house, smoke house, storage shelters, and a 2¼ mile electric line were built.

All existing fields were cleared of over- and undergrowth and planted. Drainage ditches were reopened, roads rebuilt, several miles of fences constructed, nearly 100 acres of new ground has been cleared for pasturage. Sufficient work stock was secured from the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and the War Department to work the farm. A small selected herd of beef cattle was secured, also a small dairy herd. Full blooded Hampshire hogs were brought to the farm, and three hundred raised in 1935. A flock of more than 1,000 highly bred white leghorn chickens has been added; this stock was secured without cost to the ERA. To this have been added three fine bulls secured from the best herds in the state without cost, the owners showing a great interest in our program. No money crop was planted--only food and feed being raised. The garden supplied practically all vegetables used on the farm, and at the Raleigh shelter feeding approximately 750 meals daily. Several thousand cans of vegetables were canned; the farm yielded 800 bushels of sweet potatoes, 500 bushels Irish potatoes, 65 tons of hay, 850 bushels of corn, nearly 15,000 pounds of pork have

been killed and 5,000 pounds of beef; all milk, butter and eggs that are required are produced on this farm.

By March, 1935, the case load had decreased somewhat due to increased vigilance of the transient staff in registering only those persons entitled to aid. More thorough investigations were made of the possibility and advisability of returning men to their homes. More intensive efforts were made by case workers to find jobs for the men. Since the Durham center was so near Raleigh and Greensboro, it was thought advisable to close it to further registrations. The offices were moved to the old Post Office building, where they were maintained until the middle of May, when the Durham office was closed entirely.

On September 17, 1935, the FERA wired orders to close all transient centers to new transients at midnight, September 20. Notices of this order were posted at all centers and no new transients were received after that date. Plans were started to close the centers. Increased efforts were made to return men to their homes. Employable persons were certified for work on WPA projects.

By February 1, 1936, all centers were closed except Dunlap Springs, and work camps were abandoned, except Camp Weaver at Nags Head and New Hope Farm. These were transferred to WPA projects. The remaining employables at the abandoned camps were transferred to Nags Head. The Nags Head Camp has been absorbed by the WPA Beach Erosion Project.

Orders were received to close Dunlap and New Hope by March 31. The request has been made to Washington to grant an extension of time for closing New Hope, so that arrangements can be made to provide for livestock and preserve the valuable work and improvements on the farm.

A total of 122,144 transients was received and cared for from January, 1934, until reception closed September 20, 1935. This load consisted of unattached men and women and family groups. Men for the camps were selected from these centers, the remainder being given such care as was planned for them. Sufficient case workers were maintained at each center to investigate immediately each case and determine what was needed by the transients, either prolonged care or return to their home communities.

These men coming from all parts of the country have presented an interesting study, representing almost every type, highly educated, skilled men, and totally untrained men of the type who travel continually with the seasons. A small percentage of these men came to the shelters and camps to weather economic conditions until they could secure work, and many of them have been placed in secure positions; others stopped only for shelter, and almost without exception all adjusted themselves to the wholesome conditions they found in the shelters and camps. Adequate medical care and inspection were furnished; treatment rooms and hospital wards were established in each shelter, and trained nurses and orderlies cared for these cases under the supervision of a carefully selected local physician. As was to be expected, a great number of these men were afflicted with venereal diseases. They had no home, no work and no money. Their condition could only grow worse and they were a constant menace to all with whom they came in contact. These men, realizing the opportunity for complete restoration to health, coöperated with the doctors in every way.

The most distressing feature of transiency is the roving family. Very little can be done for them in a practical way. However, most families were returned to their home communities after receiving temporary aid such as medical aid and clothes. Efforts to place a considerable number of young men in CCC camps were successful. Such an arrangement was felt by the Transient Director to be the finest accomplishment of the division.

The experience with the transients in North Carolina has demonstrated the willingness of these folks to work. They want work. They have been coöperative in all phases of the program; only a few have created disturbances in the community or in camps.

A fine community helpfulness was evidenced at the Raleigh center in 1934 when the men requested

that they be permitted to make toys for children of the city and have a Christmas at the center. For two months they were busy making toys from old rubber tires, old crates, and every kind of material. Hundreds of toys of all description were made, and Christmas Eve was happily spent in decoration of an outdoor tree and other preparations for children on Christmas afternoon.

These transients, men from all walks of life, should be commended for their splendid effort in coöperating with the supervisory personnel of the transient program, and in coöperating with the Safety Division of the Emergency Relief Administration. The constant vigilance of the men themselves in their concern for safety throughout the whole period of the program has created for them an enviable record in the establishment of first aid methods, of fire drills, and the inspection of buildings, materials and equipment, for the reduction to a minimum of hazards incident to the close quartering of persons, which was necessary in this program. Evidence of this fine record made by the transients in emptying buildings during fire drills may be found on page 277, which is a part of the report on the Safety Division.

A LIST OF TRANSIENTS CARED FOR EACH MONTH WITH CURRENT OPERATION AND PERMANENTPLANT AND EQUIPMENT COSTS PER MONTH

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

FUNCTIONS OF DEPARTMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Departments of Public Relations serve various purposes in the organization of modern society. Modern industry particularly has such complex ramifications that most of the larger industrial or business units maintain departments whose function is varied, depending upon which interest the department is designed to promote. It is a commonplace of modern knowledge that not only industries and businesses give attention to the need for some organized effort to relate them to the public, but special groups pursuing particular lines of activity, quite remote from industry or business, maintain within themselves an individual or group whose time is devoted to interpreting the activity to the public.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE RELIEF PROGRAM

The chief purpose of a Department of Public Relations associated with an agency like the Emergency Relief Administration is not merely propagandistic, although it may be maintained that any such relating effort is in the nature of propaganda. Nor is it mere publicity in the sense of staking the whole success of the enterprise on what is released to newspapers or other publications.

It would seem, in the light of experience with government programs, that the chief purpose of a Department of Public Relations in such programs is the fostering of amicable public contacts and the creation of an understanding public by the interpretation of the intention, the scope, and the significance of the particular program, which in this case, is the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration. Not only is interpretation necessary, but there is a definite obligation to interpret the elements of the program to the public. The very nature of the Emergency Relief Administration is such that the citizen has every right to know what his government is doing and to what extent success is attending that effort. It is up to the Department of Public Relations to so inform the general public.

METHODS IN ERA PUBLIC RELATIONS

To interpret the program and inform the state of progress, a number of devices are used. Newspaper publicity is an important medium for the dissemination of information. The newspapers of the state, with but few exceptions, are to be heartily commended for the space, and encouraging editorial comment which they have given the ERA program. The exceptions are a few newspapers which disagreed with the philosophy of public relief upon which the ERA is erected and hence were ready to criticise any particular act. Also, and almost necessarily in the nature of things, harm was done from time to time by premature comment based on partial or incorrect information. In most cases an interview or letter cleared the matter.

Publication in media other than newspapers has also helped to reach the public with the merits of the program. For example, Popular Government, the publication of the North Carolina Institute of Government, goes to all governmental officials throughout the state, to business men, schools and libraries. The N. C. ERA was offered the privilege of having three articles published in it. The first article dealt with the background of the FERA, the second with the administration of relief since its inception in this state, and the third with the problems of the N. C. ERA, and the future outlook for relief. It is felt that these articles have reached a very influential audience.

Pamphlets have been prepared and distributed from time to time giving the public an idea of the nature and accomplishments of N. C. ERA. That these have been valuable is attested by many comments which have come in from over the state.

Public meetings, and joint meetings of ERA staffs and public citizens have proven unusually valuable. For example in a series of social service institutes which were held throughout the state,

a luncheon meeting, dinner meeting, or afternoon meeting was given over to a discussion of the program, interpreting the program to the public, and the ERA staff and visiting citizens to each other. These meetings were addressed by a representative of the Department of Public Relations, and the program usually ended with an open discussion which proved both provocative of discussion and instructive. Other public meetings throughout the state were addressed by District Administrators, or members of the Social Service Divisions throughout the state. It proved altogether true that through an understanding of the program, there was less criticism and more support.

In addition to these other phases of Public Relations, this department was charged with the responsibility of editing and preparing all publications issued by N. C. ERA. A consistent effort is made to have such publications of a high standard so that they will have a permanent value as chronicles of this particular period in which the N. C. ERA has functioned. Students in the future may consult the recorded acts and problems of the N. C. ERA and see reflected there a fairly representative picture of these times when government aid was needed to keep thousands of people from want.

NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

The Nutrition Department of the Emergency Relief Administration was established September, 1934. The personnel consisted of one State Nutrition Adviser and one clerical assistant.

This Department has served in the following ways:

1. Supplied up-to-date food and nutrition information.

2. Planned weekly and monthly budgets for families of all sizes.

3. Furnished menus and recipes for relief families, school lunches, nursery school lunches, and for use of surplus commodities.

SCHOOL LUNCHES

Menus and recipes were furnished to all lunch rooms. Several of the lunch rooms were visited by the Nutrition Adviser and information given in regard to placing equipment and serving lunches.

NURSERY SCHOOLS

Supplied menus, market orders and recipes twice monthly. Visited thirty-eight of the Nursery Schools and lectured to parents of the Nursery School children on meal planning, buying, preparation and serving of low cost foods. Provided educational and illustrative materials on foods appropriate for Nursery Schools.

TRANSIENT BUREAUS AND CAMPS

Visited and inspected several of the shelters and camps kitchens and dining rooms. Provided quantity recipes.

RURAL REHABILITATION

Assisted in approving and filing of Rural Rehabilitation budgets. Outlined a plan for Home Economists of Rural Rehabilitation to follow in their demonstrations to the clients.

SURPLUS PRODUCTS

Circulated recipes to be used with the different surplus products as they are ready for distribution; for use by relief families, school lunches and Nursery Schools.

THE FISHERMEN'S SELF-HELP COOPERATIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA

The coastal area of North Carolina is a distinct section, both culturally and geographically. Settled originally by hardy English stock, it has kept its racial purity to an unusual degree. Its culture is that of a homogeneous group, remote from the rest of the state--living the vigorous life of those who wrest a living from the sea. And the possibilities of making an adequate livelihood from the sea are unlimited--provided that the bountiful catches of the fishermen can find their way to a satisfactory market.

The development of fishing with regard to regulating, conserving and marketing the catches of fish has not kept pace with other developments. The fisherman is at the mercy of wind and weather, of lean years and fat years, of transportation facilities, middlemen, and markets. If he makes a good catch; if there is a brisk demand; if there is a good price, he makes expenses plus a profit. If these elements are not present he does not.

Another factor which has operated to keep the fisherman living on margin has been the disorganization of the industry. With but few exceptions, fishermen fish either singly or in small crews. Loss of gear, bad seasons, etc., instead of being borne by a large number of participants, fall heavily on the few.

Accordingly the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration delegated the then Public Relations Director to make a survey to determine the extent and nature of the problem. A questionnaire was prepared, calling for detailed information about the person's fishing history, his aptitude, the extent to which he had depended on fishing, his earnings and catches over a five-year period, etc., etc. These questionnaires were circulated among relief clients and those eligible for relief. The results of this survey were tabulated, and on the basis of the number of approved applicants, and the estimated amount necessary for their rehabilitation, further plans were made.

Following this survey of the fishermen, officials of the Emergency Relief Administration sought some means for aiding fishermen in this state and after various plans had been considered, decision was reached to adopt the Self-Help Coöperative program. Under this plan, the ERA, fishing communities, and Self-Help Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration coöperated to establish modern facilities for handling, processing and marketing seafood products. These facilities became the property of the fishermen members of the organization. Some of these members were on relief, some were classified as eligible for relief, and others as potential relief clients.

In December, 1934, the State Relief Administrator detailed the Public Relations Director for the ERA as Coöperative Specialist to organize the fishermen into coöperative groups. These organization methods were adopted to give the fishermen themselves the opportunity either to approve or reject the plans. It was found that the fishermen looked with favor upon the self-help coöperative plan with the result that over 3,000 of them were interviewed by visitors and indicated their desire to become associated with the organization. After various eliminations, 1,571 fishermen actually made application for membership.

A survey was next made to determine marketing possibilities. No effort was made to enter competition with private enterprise, since there would be no virtue in displacing one set of sellers in favor of another. But there is a potential market in the state that has not been touched, due to inability to preserve fish, and regularize shipments.

On the basis, therefore, of the number of persons involved, the amount needed to begin rehabilitation, and the extent of available market, a corporation was formed, and an application made to Washington. There is a parent corporation, The North Carolina Self-Help Corporation which was created to receive and disburse grants from the government, pass on the establishment of new subsidiary coöperative corporations, and to act generally in an advisory capacity.

The North Carolina Fisheries, Incorporated, is the name of the Fishermen's Coöperative, the first corporation to be organized under the parent corporation. Its directorate is drawn from the participants.

This corporation will process and market products of its members who will receive in the form of a dividend money gained resulting from such operation. These dividends will be paid in direct proportion to the amount of production of each member. A separate grant from the Self-Help Coöperative Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration was made for operating capital for the fisheries. This grant was made to the North Carolina Self-Help Corporation which in turn loaned the fund to the North Carolina Fisheries. This loan will be amortized over a period of 30 years and such payments will be used by the North Carolina Self-Help Corporation for the establishment of other coöperatives within the state.

With this favorable reaction from among those to be benefited, and potential markets shown by the survey, application was made to Mr. Harry L. Hopkins, FERA Administrator, Washington, D. C., who is empowered by provision of the Federal Emergency Relief Act to make grants for the establishment of such organizations, for operating capital for the Fisheries in the sum of $129,000.

Meantime, the N. C. Self-Help Corporation was organized as a business agency to receive grants from the ERA and gifts from other sources, to be loaned to coöperatives. This corporation is separate and distinct from the Emergency Relief Administration in North Carolina and is in effect the bank for the N. C. Fisheries, Inc., and any other coöperatives which may be formed in the state.

While the application for the operating capital was being prepared and acted upon, the N. C. ERA, aided by the towns and counties in which the plants were to be established, moved forward with its building program to provide the facilities necessary for the operation of the Fisheries. At Morehead City, where is located the main plant, a fish freezing plant with a daily freezing capacity in excess of 10,000 pounds and storage capacity of 800,000 pounds was built. Included in these plans were also modern facilities, approved by the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries for filleting, pan dressing, canning, salting, and smoking fish. This plant also has all modern facilities for handling crabs, clams, escallops, oysters, shrimp, and all types of edible seafood products. The City of Morehead City contributed the site and $11,000 in cash or materials for this plant. Under the terms of the agreement between the Emergency Relief Administration and Morehead City, the ERA furnished the labor for building the plant and such additional materials as were needed.

Upon completion, the plant was transferred to Morehead City which in turn leased it to the N. C. Fisheries, Inc., for a 23-year period for $1.00 per year. Also, the City of Morehead City in its agreement with the N. C. Emergency Relief Administration exempted or agreed to pay all county and state taxes which might be incurred by the Fisheries during the lease period. It further agreed to pay all fire and storm insurance for the plant.

Similar arrangements were worked with Southport, Manteo, and Belhaven. At Southport the city contributed $3,000 in cash and the site. Agreement with the City of Southport also carried the clauses covering insurance and city and county taxes. At Manteo, the county of Dare contributed a site and $1,500.00. The City of Belhaven turned over to the Fisheries a building already equipped, on a lease arrangement of five years for $1.00 per year.

Total cost of all the plants was approximately $132,605.00.

The freezing plant at Morehead City supplies a long-felt need. Hitherto there were no facilities for conserving large quantities of fish. With the freezer, during periods when the market is glutted, seafood products can be frozen and held in storage until there is a scarcity of these products. As

an example, during January and February of this year, North Carolina's fishing season, from the standpoint of production, was the poorest in perhaps 25 years. The Fisheries had frozen approximately 75,000 pounds of seafood products in the previous November and was able to supply the markets with these products during the lean production period of January and February. It is believed the freezer will conserve large quantities of fish during the summer when prices drop below a living wage range to the fishermen and when supply is much greater than demand. These will be frozen during the summer and sold during the winter months when weather prevents fishing on a large scale.

The Southport, Manteo, and Belhaven plants do not have freezing facilities, but they do have electrically refrigerated rooms for holding seafood products.

The ear-marked sum of $129,000.00, approved by Mr. Hopkins, was made in the form of a grant to the North Carolina ERA, for the N. C. Fisheries Coöperative. This sum was transferred to the N. C. Self-Help Coöperative, to be loaned to the Fisheries. In turn, the N. C. Self-Help Corporation made an original loan to the Fisheries in the amount of $42,000. Later, another loan of $10,000 for operating expenses and one for $5,000 for a loan fund was made to the Fisheries by the Self-Help Corporation. This loan is amortized by the Fisheries over a 30-year period in semi-annual installments at a rate of 1 per cent interest.

The Fisheries, chartered under the laws of the State of North Carolina, is controlled by a Board of Directors composed of from five to seven members. Under the by-laws of the organization, this Board is elected annually by the fishermen members of the organization. At the present time, members of this Board are, John H. Sikes, President, Morehead City; Marion A. Cowell, Vice President, Morehead City; Mrs. Thomas O'Berry, Raleigh; Roy L. Davis, Manteo; Ivy Gaskill, Harker's Island; Charles E. Gause, Southport; and John G. Piner, Morehead City.

Fishermen members of the organization, about 400, sell their products through the organization at prevailing market prices and participate on a pro rata basis in all profits of the organization. Aid in the purchase of gear and equipment has been extended fishermen members out of a $5,000 loan fund established for this purpose. The organization holds members' notes and chattel mortgages on their equipment covering most of this sum and members repay these loans with certain percentages of their catches.

The North Carolina Fisheries, Inc., began operations in the Morehead City, Southport, and Belhaven plants on October 7, 1935. The Manteo plant began November, 1935. Up until February 15, 1936, the Fisheries had handled approximately 1,300,000 pounds of seafood products. These were all sold in a wide variety of markets over an area including the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and the District of Columbia.

One of the main purposes of the Fisheries is the development of new preserving processes for the types of seafood caught in North Carolina waters. The most successful of these thus far has been the processing and marketing of channel bass and sea mullets. These two types of fish, particularly the former, were slow-moving products. The Fisheries began filleting both these types and packing them in one-pound tins. Comparatively large volumes of trout have been sold, dressed, and other types of processed goods include flounder fillets, bluefish fillets, speckled trout fillets, Spanish mackerel fillets, salt mullet fillets, and other types of dressed or filleted fish. As indicated, the Fisheries also handles oysters, which are cleaned with modern machinery, shrimp, both cooked and green; escallops, and clams. In the Fisheries laboratory, there have been developed crab gumbo, oyster juice, deviled crab, minced clams, clam chowder and pet food. These products are still in the experimental stage and have not been placed on the market. The Fisheries is also

developing various types of smoked fish and is experimenting with a smoked fish fillet which, it is planned, eventually will be placed on the market for sale in fish shops, cafes, and hot dog stands.

Much of the equipment, such as trucks and canneries, was transferred by the ERA to the Self-Help Corporation which in turn sold it to the Fisheries. Under this arrangement, the Fisheries acquired a fleet of 12 trucks and two trailers; canneries at Southport and Morehead City; and various other types of equipment that had been previously used in the ERA's program.

Although the Fisheries has been in operation slightly less than five months, it has been given credit variously for increasing prices which the fishermen received for their products. As an example, channel bass had seldom ever brought more than Ic or 1½c per pound, to the fishermen. With new methods adopted for processing this product, the price now being paid is 4c per pound. The general effect, as indicated by those familiar with the industry, has been an increase of prices to the fishermen all along the line. Among the 400 members of the organization there is a general feeling of proprietorship in the new organization and the belief that the Fisheries will help to solve many of the problems which have beset the members particularly over the past five years. During this five-year period fish markets have been demoralized chiefly because there was no orderly marketing of products. Statistics show that over a two-year period, previous to 1935, the fisherman's average income was approximately $168.00 per year. Over this period, the average price for all types of fish sold by the fishermen was slightly above 2c per pound. Since beginning operations, the

average price paid by the Fisheries to the fishermen is estimated at from 3½c to 4½c per pound.

While there are no definite figures yet available, there is a strong indication that the establishment of the Fisheries has either directly or indirectly reduced the need for relief along the North Carolina coast. Direct and permanent employment has been given in the plants to approximately 75 people. Those benefited by increased prices probably number as high as 1,500 persons, considering that of the 400 members, most of them are heads of crews of from 2 to 3 people, and most of them are heads of families. In addition to this, it is the express belief of persons familiar with the fishing industry that the fact that the Fisheries has strengthened the general price structure of the seafood products has reflected benefit to hundreds of other fishermen and fishermen's families who are not directly associated with the Fisheries. The Fisheries has made itself felt in virtually every community in North Carolina. In addition to the plants already enumerated, the Fisheries maintains agencies or houses in such widely scattered points as Wanchese, Stumpy Point, Engelhard, Hatteras, Ocracoke, South Creek, Marshallburg and Swansboro. Merchants and business men in all communities touched by the Fisheries have volunteered statements that Fisheries payrolls and Fisheries members have perceptibly aided business at these points.

It should be pointed out in any paper dealing with the Fisheries that the Fisheries is a permanent organization whose benefits should, and by all indications will, be increased with each succeeding year and that it is by no means and emergency measure.

THE DROUGHT CATTLE PROGRAM

The most difficult service that the State Relief Administration was called on to render was using the facilities of its organization to aid the Federal Government in its effort to help thousands of farmers in drought areas through the purchase of millions of cattle, and the utilization of these cattle as food for relief clients, thus giving work to thousands of relief clients in various activities of the program.

This very complex program involved building stockyards, fencing pastures, receiving and testing 101,466 cows and calves--transporting to pastures, slaughtering and processing cattle, distribution of fresh meat to relief clients, salting, storing, and processing hides, in a state unaccustomed to handling cattle on such a large scale--all within a period of six months.

The program was handled jointly by three divisions of the relief organization. The Rural Rehabilitation Division was in charge of selection of pastures and care of cows in the pastures. The Works Division was responsible for all constructions of abattoirs, fencing, and canneries, operation of canneries, storing and processing of hides. The Commodities Director was in charge of distribution of fresh meat and canned goods.

In June, 1934, the State Administrator was requested to wire the estimated number of cattle up to 100,000 that could be pastured in the state. With the aid of the Animal and Husbandry Division of State College in estimating available pasturage, the State Administration offered to care for 75,000 cows. In July, authorization was received for rental of pastures and building stockyards in preparation for receiving the cattle. Within sixty days, 101,466 cows had been received in the state. The number was increased as available pasturage exceeded estimates.

A primary consideration was safeguarding native cattle from probable infection from any diseased cattle that might come into the state, as the cattle were to be shipped without health certificates. The State Administration entered into an agreement with the State Veterinarian to employ available veterinarians in the state for testing the cattle, and to have all cattle found to be diseased killed and cremated. A member of the staff of the State Veterinary Division was taken over by ERA for supervision of testing, treatment, and enforcement of quarantine.

Holding and testing pens were constructed at Goldsboro, Raleigh, Monroe, Clyde, Asheville, and West Jefferson--all equipped with laboratory facilities for testing and treatment. With the coöperation of the Animal and Husbandry Division of North Carolina State College, pastures were selected in every section of the state, and as rapidly as rental contracts could be made, construction of pasture fences was begun.

Numerous handicaps were encountered at the stockyards, as men experienced for such work were not available. Due to the efficiency of the railroads and of the local administrations, the unloading of cattle was accomplished in remarkably short time and with little loss of cattle, although numbers of cows were too weak to stand when the trains arrived and many died in transit. In Goldsboro on one occasion 4,000 cows were unloaded between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. As the extreme weakness of the cows required holding them in the pens until they were in condition to be transferred to pastures, it was necessary to enlarge the stockyards, constructed to hold approximately 2,500 cows, to accommodate 7,500. Incinerators adjacent to stockyards were built for burning diseased cattle. The inspection and testing for TB, Bangs, and other diseases were under the direction of the State Veterinarian. As only fifty-three veterinarians were available, they frequently worked more than twenty-four hours on a stretch to relieve conjested conditions. The cost of inspection, testing, and treatment in the stockyards was .1355 cents per head.

In addition to inspection by the State Veterinary Department of cattle at stockyards and abattoirs, inspection of cattle was necessary in pastures, and of native herds in proximity to drought

cattle, in order to guard against development of probable disease. A follow-up inspection of native herds is in process during liquidation of ERA. The administration has exercised every precaution to prevent lowering of health standards already attained by the state.

The item of pasturage involved considerable difficulty, including rental, fencing, herding, and, in time, due to the type of available pasture in season, supplemental feeding.

The original plan of the drought cattle program was that selected cattle were to be pastured and put in condition for use in the Rural Rehabilitation program, but changes in the Federal program required that all cattle be disposed of by January, 1935. With this in view, abattoirs, canneries, and processing plants were rushed to completion by the Works Division of the Emergency Relief Administration.

Modern abattoirs were constructed at Hamlet and New Bern. Also repairs were made at existing abattoirs in Raleigh, Greensboro, and Wilson. At the same time, construction was rushed on canning plants at Wilson, Raleigh, New Bern, Asheville, Waynesville, Greensboro, Rockingham, and Troy. The modern equipment and size of these plants can be illustrated by the fact that at the plant in Greensboro the normal production per day was 15,000 one-pound cans. The equipment installed in the canneries was purchased on specifications which would enable same to be utilized in the general relief vegetable and fruit canneries. After completion of the meat canning, practically all equipment was put to use in the Emergency Relief canning program in the summer of 1935.

The operation of the abattoirs was under the supervision of the State Veterinary Division, the cost of this slaughter inspection was .20½ per head. These abattoirs were equipped with refrigeration rooms, and the slaughtered beef was transferred to operating canneries and refrigerated storage by refrigerated trucks owned and operated by the Emergency Relief.

In the latter part of November and December when cold weather arrived, in towns having slaughtering facilities approved by the State Veterinarian, cows were slaughtered and distributed as fresh meat to relief clients. The slaughter of all cattle was completed by January, 1935, with exception of the cattle held for conditioning and the cattle lost in the pastures, which required some time to find. This carried the program on a small scale into April.

The cities, in which meat canneries were installed, furnished buildings, material for repairs, water and lights for operation, and the Emergency Relief Administration furnished labor and equipment.

The actual operation of the canneries was started in September, 1934. The supervision of the meat processing was placed under the State Home Demonstration Agent. The Extension Economist in Marketing and Food Conservation and canning specialist was loaned full time to the ERA for supervision of the canning program, selection and training of supervisory personnel in the canning plants. A trained home economist was placed in charge of canning operations at each plant. All relief clients and other labor accepted for work in the plants were required to secure a health certificate from the Board of Health. The average number of persons employed in these eight canneries was 3,185 per week, and operation was on a twenty-four hour basis per day. The most strict regulations of sanitation and cleanliness in these plants were rigidly enforced. The canneries were most noteworthy for this feature as well as for efficiency and production.

Each plant was equipped with a first aid station, in charge of a registered nurse working with each shift of workers. An experienced butcher was in charge of each shift of meat cutters. The necessity of using inexperienced persons in butchering occasioned risk of cuts and danger of infections. Immediate treatment of cuts prevented infections. As an evidence of the thorough supervision of these places by the Safety Department, the following is given:

The above analysis is very interesting. Out of 1,481,762 hours of work, there was a total of 8,077 accidents. This includes every type of injury from minor scratches to cuts received from bones, which are likely to become infected--yet there were only twenty-one infections. The Safety Director attributed the low percentage of infections to the fact that a trained nurse was on duty with each shift.

There were only thirty-four lost-time accidents. The accident frequency of 24.3 hours is higher than frequency of the general relief work program, which was eleven. However, it should be remembered that the majority of people employed in the abattoirs and canneries had had little, if any, previous training in this particular work.

From September, 1934, until February, 1935, the completion of the canning program, there were 6,431,792 cans of one-pound net produced, which consisted of stew beef, hamburger, soup stock, tongue and liver.

A total of 57,765 cattle was slaughtered for consumption and canning. Due to change of plans to complete the program by January 1, at the direction of the FERA, 26,635 cows were shipped from pastures to designated points out of the state. Pasture leases were made on a flat per-head basis, the pasture owner making certain provisions for housing and care, on the consideration of fencing by ERA in lieu of rent, the ERA furnishing labor, or materials, or both according to the value of the pasture, etc. Pasture owners constructed barns, planted feed crops, or withheld sale of feed, for grazing of drought cattle, expecting to rent the pastures for three years. The sudden removal of the cattle left dissatisfied owners and hundreds of claims to be settled by the administrators.

The State Relief Administration was permitted to keep the hides for the establishment of a Tannery at Old Fort. All hides were salted and stored.

The total cost of the cattle program was $3,167,646.00.

There were 762 pastures rented, comprising 270,670 acres, at a total cost of 58 cents per acre, including rentals, fencing, and repairs.

The average cost of the canned meats (hamburger, soup, liver, and tongue) was 17.5 cents per pound can. This cost includes the total expenditures of the cattle program, the construction of stockyards, abattoirs, canneries, transporting and handling cows in stockyards, pastures, etc.

If a market value were placed on the by-products of the cattle program, such as hides, tankage, bones, and manure used in the rural rehabilitation program, deducted from the unit cost, the average cost per can would be considerably lowered.

The program was handled as economically as possible under prevalent conditions. In spite of all precautions, there was a large loss of cattle, due to the poor condition of cows, high waters in eastern pasture areas, and other conditions beyond control of the administration. A large force of investigators was employed to protect the cattle.

From the above, one can see the difficulties encountered in handling so large a program in such a short time, a program which involved so many difficult stages of operation, but which, nevertheless, was accomplished by the ERA in the specified time limit, using its personnel of relief labor and supervision.

The Relief Administration is indebted to the State Veterinary Division of the Agricultural Department, the Home Demonstration Service of State College, the Animal and Husbandry Division of State College, the local health departments, and local governmental officials for their fine coöperation throughout the duration of this program.

COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION

Although the shipment of surplus commodities into the state was begun in October, 1933, it was not until the spring of 1934 that shipments of these commodities assumed such large proportions, requiring the full time of a director to arrange freight shipments, storage warehouses, allocations, and distribution of products, purchases, accounting and reporting. Accordingly a member of the staff, familiar with these transactions, was appointed to the position of State Director of Commodity Distribution. Surplus commodities were shipped by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration to the receiving and storage warehouse located at central points; there they were unloaded, repacked, and shipped, by trucks, to the county or district ERA storerooms.

Each county or district storeroom was in charge of a storeroom keeper, whose responsibility it was to see that all requisitions made by the case worker were filled--that commodities were properly protected and distributed, records properly kept, and accurate reporting made for all goods under his care. When the counties were consolidated, a District Commodities Director was added to the district staff to properly supervise the distribution in the district.

In addition to surplus commodities, all commodities produced in the state, such as canned and dried fruits and vegetables, mattresses, bed linens, and garments made in women's work rooms, were distributed from these storerooms. The production and distribution of commodities grew into an extensive business amounting in value to millions of dollars.

(2) Relief Commodities--those commodities produced or purchased in the state from the funds granted to the state for general relief purposes.

An important distinction between these two was that Federal Surplus Commodities were given to clients over and above their budget with no money value placed on the goods. Relief Commodities were given as relief and charged to the budgets of the clients.

FEDERAL SURPLUS COMMODITIES

The Federal Surplus Relief Corporation was created as an instrument through which price-depressing surplus products might be removed from the open market, processed, and distributed in such forms as food and clothing to relief clients. It is a non-profit corporation, having as its Board of Directors the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, the Federal Administrator of Public Works, and the Federal Emergency Relief Administrator. Sources from which the FSRC received the commodities were:

(1) The AAA which donated to the FSRC large quantities of commodities purchased under its crop and price adjustment program; also cattle, sheep, and goats, purchased from its drought relief program from drought areas.

(2) The FSRC, which acted as agent for State Administrations, purchased large quantities of surplus commodities from funds granted to the States, but transferred directly by FERA to the FSRC.

(3) Local crop purchases which were made directly by the State Relief Administrations, acting as agents for the FSRC, in areas where there were crop surpluses. The purchasing was supervised by the FERA and paid for from funds granted to the States for that purpose. For instance, in June, July and August, 1934, when the market for white potatoes in North Carolina was depressed because of the surplus, the State Administrator, authorized by the FSRC, purchased potatoes in the amount of $118,861.80. These were shipped to other State Relief Administrations and to County Relief Administrations in North Carolina in areas where potatoes were not ready for harvesting.

Eggs in the amount of $36,825.00 were purchased by the North Carolina Relief Administration and distributed to relief clients within the state.

Cotton and cotton ticking in the amount of $99,330.00 were purchased also by the Administration from textile mills in North Carolina and made up in women's work rooms. In addition in the goods purchased by the North Carolina Relief Administration, the FSRC also purchased large amounts of cloth, by yardage, from North Carolina mills and distributed it in North Carolina and other states to be made into garments for clients in ERA work rooms.

Thus, in addition to removing the products from the open markets, employment in private industry was stimulated through these purchases, and work furnished relief clients in the ERA work rooms, providing clothing, mattresses, bed linens, and towels for clients.

The surplus commodities were allocated to the state by the FERA on the basis of relief loads and the ability of the district administrations to reach clients with distribution, referred to as coverage. The extent of coverage varies from practically 100 per cent in some of our urban centers and well organized districts, to less than 25 per cent in rural districts, the average coverage being approximately 50 per cent of relief clients, in addition to commodities furnished other eligible clients.

As stated above, surplus commodities were given over and above the budget of the relief client and never in lieu of relief. Violation of this policy would offset the purpose for which the commodities were purchased, which purpose was to prevent the competition of surplus commodities with the commodities purchased and sold through regular business channels.

In addition to relief clients, Rural Rehabilitation clients; transient centers, and county poor lists; public institutions, supported wholly or in part by the state, county or city; and private institutions rendering care and service to the needy and the destitute, received surplus commodities.

Institutions receiving surplus commodities were required to file an affidavit with the ERA that commodities used by them will be in addition to the usual consumption and not as substitution for regular purchases. Distribution of surplus commodities was on a unit basis. Money value was not expressed and no amount was charged against the budget of the recipient.

Surplus commodities made possible an increase in the variety of foods for relief clients.

Table on page 356 shows the amount and kinds of commodities received and distributed in the state.

In addition to these commodities, 101,596 cows were shipped into the state by the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation, report of which will be found under the cattle program.

RELIEF COMMODITIES

Relief Commodities were those commodities produced or purchased from general relief funds granted to the state. These were distributed to clients and charged against the budget.

The local or district administrations produced on community farms and gardens quantities of vegetables, which were dried or canned, sugar cane which was made into syrup, and other products, and stored them to be distributed in the winter months to clients. This provided work for men and women on relief rolls in cultivating and harvesting the crops and work in canning and conserving. Costs of seed, planting, etc., were paid for from funds granted to the county or district for general relief. Local communities usually coöperated by furnishing, free of cost, land to be used for the gardens. The value of the foods harvested in the state was far greater than the amount of money expended.

Clothing materials were also purchased locally, when Federal surplus materials were not sufficient or available, and made into garments in the women's work rooms.

Surplus products which farmers were unable to sell were purchased frequently by the district administrators.

In 1934, when a heavy surplus of string beans in eastern North Carolina was depressing the market, the State Administration purchased through the District Administrations string beans in the amount of $2,553.63. Although this was not a large quantity, it had the effect of improving the market.

In 1935, the farmers of Watauga and surrounding counties were unable to sell their cabbage and faced a heavy loss. The Winston-Salem Administration purchased large quantities of surplus cabbage from these counties and made it into sauerkraut. This was distributed through District Administrations in other sections.

In 1933, $496,086.17 was expended in fertilizer, seeds, jars, and labor in individual and community gardens. The value of the yield was over $12,000,000.

The Works Division had an important part in processing both surplus and relief commodities. The abattoirs and meat canneries were operated by the Works Divisions. The women's work rooms, repacking surplus commodities, such as dried milk, prunes, etc., were directed by the Works Division. The finished products were delivered by the Works Division to the storerooms and there inventoried and, upon requisition by the case worker, distributed by the commodities director to relief clients.

All commodities, both Federal Surplus and Relief produced, on hand December 31, 1935 were transferred to State Department of Public Welfare.

METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration determined matters of policy governing the distribution of surplus commodities in the state. The amount of commodities allowed each relief client per month was limited according to the size of the family. All orders for commodities were signed by the case workers and receipted by the clients.

The amount of relief commodities allowed each family was determined by the case worker according to the relief budget of the client.

In most of the cities and towns, the clients called at the storerooms for their commodities.

In rural areas the commodities were carried by truck to designated points where the clients called for them. In many areas rural merchants coöperated by using their stores as distributing centers where clients called for their orders. In other areas commodities were carried by case workers on their visits to clients. Distribution of commodities in rural areas was difficult, and the State Administration did not require uniform methods of delivery. This was left to the discretion of District Administrations, who used their own methods of getting commodities to clients.

THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

FOREWORD

Emergency Conservation Work was originally authorized in the United States under the provisions of an Act of the 73rd Congress and approved March 31, 1933. The name Civilian Conservation Corps was adopted by Executive order of April 5, 1933.

The objectives of the Civilian Conservation Corps, as the words indicate, were two-fold, namely, The Conservation of the Country's Human Resources, and The Conservation of the Country's Physical Resources. The first of these objectives was to be realized in the giving of employment to thousands of unemployed young men between the ages of 18 and 25, later changed to 17-28, thus upbuilding in them health, morale, confidence, and self-respect, in addition to bringing financial relief to distressed families. The second objective was to be realized in the conservation, restoration and protection of the forests, in soil erosion and flood control, in the development of public parks, recreational and historical areas, in wild life conservation, and in the performance of other useful public works.

ORGANIZATION

The original Congressional Act authorizing the Civilian Conservation Corps gave the President authority to appoint a Director of Conservation Work, and Mr. Robert Fechner has held this position since the beginning of the enterprise. Coöperating with, and working under, Mr. Fechner in carrying out the Emergency Conservation Program, are the United States Departments of War, Agriculture, Interior, and Labor.

The Department of War is responsible for the physical examination, enrollment, equipping and conditioning of the men, and for transportation of enrollees, camp construction, command, supply, administration, sanitation, medical care, hospitalization, pay, welfare, and education at camps.

The Departments of Agriculture and Interior are responsible for the selection and planning of work projects on national forests, parks, monuments, soil erosion control, and the supervision of all projects on state and private lands and state parks.

The Department of Labor is responsible for the selection of all men to be enrolled at the regular minimum cash allowance of $30 per month plus maintenance, except the veterans, who are selected by the Veterans' Administration. The Department of Labor is, therefore, responsible for publishing junior quotas, determining eligibility standards and selection policies, initiating the selection process, etc. This department, of course, does not select the CCC men directly, but promulgates the general policies and eligibility standards which have been established, and invites the officially recognized Emergency Relief Administrations in the various States to become the State Selecting Agencies for the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Thus, from the outset, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration became the North Carolina Selecting Agency of all CCC juniors with the power and authority to designate local selecting agencies throughout the state to execute the details necessary to placing the men in camps. The local relief administrations naturally became these local CCC Selecting Agencies to work under the direction and supervision of the State Agency.

OPERATIONS

It became the responsibility of the State and Local Selecting Agencies to work out the details of selecting the CCC juniors, establish the need of the allotees, to work out local quotas from the announced state quotas, and to transport the selectees to the initial acceptance stations for examination by the Army, etc.

The necessary details and plans were accomplished and ready for operations when the basic state quota for North Carolina was first announced by the United States Department of Labor in April, 1933. A synopsis of Eligibility Rules of Selection from the outset were that all junior CCC selectees must be:

1. Citizens of the United States.

2. Between the ages of 18 and 25 (later changed to 17-28).

3. Physically fit.

4. Unmarried.

5. Unemployed.

6. Obligated to, and willing to make an allotment (usually of $25.00 per month) to some dependent who was on the relief rolls, or in extreme need of financial assistance.

7. Be willing to remain in camp for the minimum period of six months unless called home for some valid reason unforeseen at the time of enrollment.

The state's quota was accepted by the State Selecting Agency; local quotas were worked out and given to the local agencies; social service departments received applications, made selections, and certified the eligibility of allottees, and the CCC enrollment in North Carolina began on April 26, 1933.

From April 26, 1933, on, as rapidly as CCC camps could be constructed and equipped by the Army, the men were selected and enrolled until July 28, at which time the state's basic quota of 6,061 had been placed in camps. Further enrollments ceased until the following October.

In accordance with eligibility rule No. 7, it would appear that replacements would be necessary only every six months. However, for various reasons, the men were continuously leaving the camps--some because they could not adjust themselves to camp life and would desert; some were discharged for misconduct, refusal to work, etc.; others were called back home because of sickness or death in the family, or to accept better jobs, etc. Thus the number of men in the camps became depleted to such an extent that the policy of replacements every three months was adopted by the authorities. The first replacement period was begun October 27, 1933, and extended through December 5, 1933, during which time the local agencies selected and the Army enrolled an additional 2,935 men.

During 1934 replacements were made as follows:

April

1,835

May

235

July

1,317

October

2,078

Total

5,465

Replacements were made early in 1935:

January

1,921

April

1,825

Total

3,746

On April 25, 1935, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration was notified by the Department of Labor that the President had approved an increase in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and that North Carolina's new basic quota was 11,080 men, not quite double its former quota, and that the expansion program would be accomplished between the dates June 15 and August 31, 1935. During the months of June, July, and August, therefore, it became necessary that the local

agencies select and send forward 4,698 juniors to replace the normal depletion in the state's previous basic quota and to add the numbers necessary to increase this quota to the new basic strength.

The CCC selection process began again on June 15, 1935, at a more rapid rate, and with greater enthusiasm than had been the case for any previous enrollment period. Late in July, the N. C. ERA was notified from Washington that some other southern states were unable to fill their quotas and, that North Carolina was asked, if possible, to furnish additional men. An estimate of the number of men available was made immediately, and N. C. ERA agreed to send forward an additional 2,593 CCC juniors, and the work continued at high speed until August 31, at which time North Carolina's basic and replacement quotas had been more than filled. During this period, June 15 to August 31, 7,291 juniors between the ages of 18 and 28 were sent to camps, and a like number of relief cases were taken from the rolls in North Carolina because of the $25.00 monthly allotments sent to them from the wages of these enrollees.

It is interesting to note the distribution by age groups of these 7,291 enrollees. This distribution which is typical of all enrollment periods, is shown below:

Age

No. of Enrollees

Per Cent of Total

18

2,780

38.1

19

1,374

18.9

20

888

12.2

21

708

9.7

22

477

6.6

23

374

5.1

24

272

3.7

25

187

2.6

26

112

1.5

27

90

1.2

28

29

.4

7,291

100.0

The last replacement period for 1935 took place from October 19 to October 31. Between these dates a total of 1,379 men were selected and enrolled. For this period, the lower age limit was reduced to 17 years, and, of the 1,379 enrolled, 208 were in the lower age group. Also for this period, the rule that enrollees may not serve more than 13 months was rescinded. The result of this change was that 243, or 17.6 per cent of the 1,379 enrolled in October, were reënrollees who had previously served an average of 9.9 months.

The State CCC Selecting Agency had nothing to do with the number or location of the CCC camps in North Carolina, but the records show that boys have been placed in 81 different camps in the state. During the two-year-and-a-half period that the CCC has been in operation, an average of 43 camps have been maintained. This average however was increased by 23 late in 1935, with one or more camps located in the following North Carolina Counties:

Of this total of 66 camps, 28 are assigned to forest protection and preservation, 22 to soil erosion control, 9 to park projects, 3 to military reservations, 1 to wild life conservation, and 3 to Tennessee Valley Authority projects. North Carolina boys have also been sent from enrollment centers directly to 21 CCC camps in other states, including South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.

A summary of the number of CCC juniors enrolled, for basic quotas and replacements, in North Carolina, is given herewith, by months and years:

Numbers Enrolled

Dates of Enrollment

White

Colored

Total

April, 1933

498

63

561

May, 1933

3,222

582

3,804

June, 1933

1,063

391

1,454

July, 1933

203

39

242

October, 1933

551

21

572

November, 1933

2,014

315

2,329

December, 1933

30

4

34

April, 1934

1,546

289

1,835

May, 1934

235

0

235

July, 1934

1,132

185

1,317

October, 1934

2,078

0

2,078

January, 1935

1,808

113

1,921

April, 1935

1,680

145

1,825

June, 1935

1,552

209

1,761

July, 1935

1,891

884

2,775

August, 1935

1,388

1,367

2,755

October, 1935

1,379

0

1,379

Totals

22,270

4,607

26,877

CCC SURVEYS

A series of surveys for securing first-hand information about the boys who had left the Civilian Conservation Corps camps during or at the end of enrolling terms, and who had failed to reënroll, was made by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration through the state and local relief offices.

The first survey of the summer enrollment period of 1933 was undertaken in the months of November, 1933, to March, 1934. The second survey of the winter enrollment period of 1933 and 1934 was made during July, August, and September of 1934. The third survey of the summer enrollment period of 1934 was made during December, January, and February, 1935.

Questionnaires were designed by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in coöperation with the officials of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Farm and Domestic Commerce, and other interested Federal agencies, and sent to the state ERA. The objective of the survey was to secure information as to the age, education, the past and present occupations of each individual, the reasons for leaving camp, as well as the present attitude toward the camp, and the employment status of the boys after leaving camp. These schedules were then distributed through the State Administration to each local administration where the data were secured by case workers with all possible speed.

The findings given in the tables below with regard to the former members of the CCC are interesting. The first survey was made within a few months following the first enrollment in the summer of 1933, and reveals the fact that 9.6 per cent of these boys could not be traced, which indicates the extent of mobility and restlessness among this group of young men. Ninety and four tenths per cent were traced. Only 31.9 per cent of the traced boys was found to be employed. The unemployment among this group, which was 61.5 per cent was probably due to some extent to the fact that the investigation or survey was made during the winter months when there is less seasonal work available than in the summer months.

The classification of "otherwise engaged" includes those boys who had died, had enlisted in military service, returned to school, who had been sick and required hospital attention, or misdemeanors which resulted in commitment to jail. Only 7.1 per cent falls within this classification.

The average number of untraced boys for the whole country was higher than 16 per cent, while the average for North Carolina was only 9.6 per cent. The national average of the number working represented 19.2 per cent of the former members of the CCC. North Carolina and the other states in the South Atlantic group were above the general average for the country.

The second survey reveals that 12.2 per cent was untraced and 87.8 per cent traced. Of the traced members of the second, or winter, period, 49.9 per cent was employed at the time the investigation was made, a substantial increase over the first term. This increase in employment is partly due to the fact that the survey was made during harvesting season when there was more seasonal work. Of the second group, 3.3 per cent was otherwise engaged.

The third survey revealed 9.2 per cent untraced and 90.8 per cent traced. Of the traced group, 35.2 per cent was found to be employed, 56.9 per cent unemployed, and 7.9 per cent otherwise engaged. Over 50 per cent of the employed was unskilled workers.

In all three periods, the number of untraced boys varied only 3 per cent which indicates a fairly static condition of mobility.

The percentage comparison of the number of untraced boys reveals that North Carolina is well below the national average, while the employment status of the untraced group is well above the the national average, almost doubling it. North Carolina ranked fifth from the top of all the states for the third term in the number of relief cases closed due to enrollment of boys in camp. The actual percentage for North Carolina was 65.1 per cent cases closed per 100 enrollees. The highest percentage was 79.3 per cent. It was found that 314 boys of the third enrollment period were in the "otherwise employed group." Of this number, 153 were found in school, 36 were reënrolled in CCC, 52 were enrolled in the army or navy, 50 were sick or dead, and 23 in jail. The fact that only 23 boys of the 3,987 boys traced were found in jail supports the opinion expressed by the United States Department of Justice and the North Carolina Commissioner of Paroles that the decrease in the ranks of young criminals has been due to the constructive work and the educational advantages of the CCC. The above surveys indicate the social value of the CCC in conserving youth, but do not deal with the economic value of their work in conserving the national resources of the country.

COMPARISON OF TRACED AND UNTRACED FORMER MEMBERS OF THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PERIODS OF THECIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF TRACED FORMER MEMBERS OF THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD PERIODS OF THE CIVILIANCONSERVATION CORPS, CLASSIFIED AS TO TIME OF DEPARTURE FROM CAMPS

TOTAL TRACED

TRACED MEMBERS EMPLOYED

TOTAL

LEFT CAMP EARLY

COMPLETED PERIOD

TOTAL

LEFT CAMP EARLY

COMPLETED PERIOD

FIRST PERIOD

NUMBER

2,263

1,196

1,067

730

431

299

(Summer 1933)

PER CENT

100

52.8

47.2

32.3

19.0

13.3

SECOND PERIOD

NUMBER

2,526

1,565

961

1,260

808

452

(Winter 1933-34)

PER CENT

100

62.0

38.0

49.9

31.9

18.0

THIRD PERIOD

NUMBER

3,987

1,596

2,391

1,404

534

870

(Summer 1934)

PER CENT

100

40.0

60.0

35.2

13.4

21.8

TRACED MEMBERS UNEMPLOYED

TRACED MEMBERS OTHERWISE ENGAGED

TOTAL

LEFT CAMP EARLY

COMPLETED PERIOD

TOTAL

LEFT CAMP EARLY

COMPLETED PERIOD

FIRST PERIOD

NUMBER

1,478

731

747

55

34

21

(Summer 1933)

PER CENT

65.3

32.3

33.0

2.5

1.5

1.0

SECOND PERIOD

NUMBER

1,183

705

478

83

52

31

(Winter 1933-34)

PER CENT

46.8

27.8

19.0

3.3

2.1

1.2

THIRD PERIOD

NUMBER

2,269

896

1,373

314

166

148

(Summer 1934)

PER CENT

56.9

22.5

34.4

7.9

4.2

3.7

OBSERVATIONS

The North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration accepted the appointment as North Carolina CCC Selecting Agency with pleasure, knowing at the time that such acceptance meant added responsibilities that necessarily accompany such tasks. The certification alone, of a total of 26,877 accepted applicants, and the determination of the eligibility of their allottees by the Social Service Division has been no small job. The ERA has enjoyed the work immensely, feeling all the time that the Civilian Conservation Corps program was one of the best tasks undertaken by our government during the days of national depression. The program has not only reduced the financial strain of the families receiving allotments, but it has offered a wholesome type of work to thousands of boys just entering the period of manhood and added responsibility who had no opportunity of making a livelihood either for themselves or their relatives. The figures shown in paragraph 3, page 361, show that between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the men enrolled were within the ages of 18 to 21, and that this group are eager and anxious, when given an opportunity, to do something for themselves, their relatives, and their state. The camp life has been of an acceptable type--furnishing to the men shelter, clothing, three meals, with good food each day, acceptable types of work, recreation, music, education, and religious training. The work undertaken by the Civilian Conservation Corps will, it is believed, be permanent and lasting for years to come.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS SPONSORED BY THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

RURAL ELECTRIFICATION

Although North Carolina possesses great natural resources and has developed its water power extensively, very little benefit had been derived by the rural population. In 1926, the state ranked as 40th in the United States in the number of farms in electric service. In 1934, North Carolina tied with South Dakota in rank as 37th place.

It was through the efforts of Governor Ehringhaus, who has long been intensely interested in Rural Electrification for North Carolina, that the General Assembly of 1934 passed a bill authorizing the Governor to appoint a State Rural Electrification Commission.

For several years the State Grange and other leading farm organizations had urged the inauguration of a state-wide Rural Electrification program. The Governor appointed a state commission of fourteen men and women in 1934 among whom were the Master, two past Masters of the State Grange, and other outstanding people officially connected with state agencies or state associations interested in rural standards of living.

The General Assembly made no provision to finance a Rural Electrification survey or program, therefore the Governor requested and received the coöperation of the State Emergency Relief Administration in conducting and financing a state-wide Rural Electrification Survey under the supervision of the Rural Electrification Commission.

Having already constructed two rural lines as CWA work projects, the ERA was interested in the survey as a means of providing work for unemployed technical and professional persons on a project that should be of great value to the development of rural life, and of providing information for use in building additional lines as work relief. The ERA considers the Rural Electrification Survey one of the most constructive and valuable projects that has been executed during the program.

On July 24, the State ERA received instructions to discontinue the survey as an ERA project since this authority was transferred to the new Rural Electrification Authority. Through the efforts of the State Rural Electrification Authority, the Federal Rural Electrification Authority made special request of the FERA to grant authority to N. C. ERA to complete the survey in the state which was granted on September 17, and work on the survey was resumed.

The total cost of the survey, including supervision and professional labor, travel, supplies and equipment, amounted to $25,637.01.

On August 9, 1934, D. S. Weaver, Professor of Agricultural Engineering at State College, was appointed Project Director, and served in this capacity without compensation. An experienced Electrical Engineer, C. W. Burton, was appointed Assistant Director. On August 10, 1934, these two and one stenographer started active work on the survey.

Due to the state-wide newspaper publicity concerning the appointment of the commission, 137 applications were received from individuals who were interested in a survey for their communities. With these applications as a basis, the program was built for a survey of 150 communities. Before a month had passed, however, it was evident that the whole problem had been underestimated, so the survey was finally extended to cover 1,011 communities. Except for the factors of time and facilities, there is ample evidence that well over 1,500 communities could have been included. The major consideration for a survey project of this nature laid on the possibility of using relief workers, both in the survey and also in construction work on those lines which it was considered feasible to extend. Clearance of right-of-way, felling and transporting of poles, and line erection were all considered as types of work well suited to the employment of relief labor.

Men selected for field work were approved by the local Relief Administrations as eligible for relief--a few were furnished by the Reëmployment Office--and fortunately very competent men were available in general. Although about 85 per cent of these men had no experience in this particular type of work, nearly all the field men had had electrical experience, while a number were graduate engineers.

All lines, transmission, distribution and proposed, as well as substations and generating plants were shown in different colors on county maps. Each proposed customer was indicated by the proper symbol and all measurements were shown. In many cases, thickly populated areas had to be shown on an enlarged scale.

In addition to the information obtained from the maps, data on existing transmission and distribution lines were collected as follows: voltage, phase, frequency, estimated power factor, specifications as to transmission line, size and material, effective spacing of conductors, together with length of transmissions. In existing substations the following information was obtained for the year 1934: voltages, primary and secondary; total KVA capacity and estimated maximum demand in KVA. Other data included right-of-way, cleared or timbered, title donated, and amount the community would contribute in cash toward the cost of a line. Some information on the possibility of rural telephones was collected, but was not included entirely in the total estimates.

Proposed customers' data were obtained on the following items: Name of proposed customer; distance in feet from beginning of line; the owner or tenant, white or colored; number of rooms and regular occupants of home; and other buildings to be serviced. It was ascertained whether the following equipment and appliances would be used: refrigerators, electric ranges, washing machines, electric irons, radios, water systems for family, livestock or miscellaneous uses, miscellaneous household appliances, number of head of dairy cattle, stock hogs and poultry. In addition, the field men from observation rated the condition of the premises and the reliability of the interview.

Almost without exception, Farm and Home Demonstration Agents and Teachers of Vocational Agriculture gave liberally of their time to assisting field men in securing data for their counties. Community meetings were held and the purposes of the survey explained. One county, Orange, has used the data obtained to outline an independent project, in extending lines built under CWA. It appears that the experience in this instance might be used as a "yardstick" for other counties.

The privately owned power companies operating in North Carolina gave very excellent cooperation in the way of supplying data on existing lines. This spirit of coöperation still exists as may be seen from the following table which gives data on rural lines which have been approved for construction since June 15, 1935.

Number of Miles Constructed, under Construction, or Approved for Construction, between June 15, 1935, and April 1, 1936

Number of Customers Served

Power Companies

972.56

6,729

Municipalities

251.04

1,246

FERA

22.60

97

Lees McRae College

4.40

16

Totals

1,250.02

8,088

The major power companies of the state have gone so far as to agree to build any line on which the Federal Rural Electrification Administration will loan money. In addition, there are some 65 municipally owned distribution systems in the state, quite a few of which generate their own electric power. Some outstanding examples of the possibilities of municipal ownership are to be found here. In most of these instances these municipalities are willing to extend lines to surrounding rural sections if satisfactory financial plans can be developed.

The revised summary of the North Carolina Rural Electrification Survey reveals the following data for the state as a whole:

Number of Lines Surveyed

1,011

Length of all Surveyed Lines in Miles

6,001.59

Total Number of Interested Prospects Interviewed

32,058

Interested Prospects per Mile

5.34

Estimated Connected Load in KW

104,939

Estimated Connected Load in KW per Mile

17.5

Estimated Cost of All Lines Surveyed

$ 9,912,888.00

Estimated Line Cost in Dollars per Mile

1,651.71

Estimated Line Cost per Prospect

309.22

Estimated Annual Revenue

1,058,572.00

Estimated Annual Revenue in Dollars per Mile

176.38

Estimated Annual Revenue in Dollars per Prospect

33.02

Estimated Annual Consumption in KWH

15,810,177

Estimated Annual Consumption in KWH per Mile

2,634

Estimated Annual Consumption in KWH per Prospect

493

Ratio of Estimated Cost of Line to Estimated Annual Revenue:

For 100 counties Average for County

9.36

For 100 counties Maximum in County

66.84

For 100 counties Minimum in County

0.63

The entire Rural Electrification Commission as well as the Director and Assistant Director of the Survey worked diligently in preparation of bills for the 1935 General Assembly, which would

enable the extension of many of these lines. Two bills, S. B. 426 and 427, were passed by the 1935 General Assembly of North Carolina.

The first, S. B. 426, is a BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT CREATING THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AUTHORITY OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING THE FULLEST POSSIBLE USE OF ELECTRIC ENERGY IN THE STATE BY MAKING ELECTRIC ENERGY AVAILABLE TO SAID INHABITANTS OF THE STATE AT THE LOWEST COST CONSISTENT WITH SOUND ECONOMY AND PRUDENT MANAGEMENT, AND DEFINING SOME OF ITS POWERS AND DUTIES.

The second bill, S. B. 427, is a BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE FORMATION OF NON-PROFIT MEMBERSHIP CORPORATIONS TO BE KNOWN AS ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING THE FULLEST POSSIBLE USE OF ELECTRIC ENERGY IN THE STATE MAKING ELECTRIC ENERGY AVAILABLE TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE STATE AT THE LOWEST COST CONSISTENT WITH SOUND ECONOMY AND PRUDENT MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS OF SUCH CORPORATIONS; PROVIDING FOR THE RIGHTS, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF SUCH CORPORATIONS; AUTHORIZING AND REGULATING THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS BY SUCH CORPORATIONS, AND PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF SUCH BONDS.

Although utility companies have held that a line is not profitable to them unless it is on a so-called three-to-one basis, or better, that is, the cost of the line should not be over three times the annual gross revenue, the plan is as contemplated in the program to change this to a figure as low as even 5 or 6 to one.

The furtherance and successful completion of a comprehensive program of rural electrification in the rural sections of the state will be perhaps one of the most significant additions to rural life.

A tabulation of the results of a survey indicated that 32,058 prospective customers have expressed their desire to secure electric power as soon as possible, under the machinery prepared by the General Assembly. In addition, 3,832 prospective customers may become interested in rural electrification as soon as they see their way clear to obtain it. The number of letters coming into the office of the REA since the completion of the survey indicate there is a possibility twice as many more worthwhile lines in the state as are indicated in this survey.

Figures tabulated from the survey indicated further that in the community survey the immediate prospective customers included: